


More Things in Heaven and Earth

by Anthemyst



Series: Dangerous Beings [4]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/F, F/M, Family Dynamics, I'll probably add more relationship tags as they become relevant, Kidnapping, M/M, Pregnancy, Sequel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-25
Updated: 2017-12-21
Packaged: 2018-11-18 21:28:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 36,522
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11299188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anthemyst/pseuds/Anthemyst
Summary: Nathalie Sancoeur, now Nathalie Agreste, knew when she married her soulmate that her life would never again be normal, exactly. Nothing in her life had been normal for two years, after all, not since his name had appeared on her back.Still, nothing could have ever prepared her for this.





	1. Chapter 1

“Is that steak cooked enough?” Gabriel Agreste asked his wife.

Nathalie didn't look up. “It's fine, Gabriel.”

“The center looks pink.”

“You're imagining it,” she said, before taking another bite.

“No, I am not,” Gabriel said, annoyed. “Did you bully the chef into undercooking-”

“Well, _now_ you're being paranoid.”

“I simply-”

“Gabriel. I have had a long day, and I intend to bite into something bloody. That can either be this steak, or your neck. Your choice.”

“The doctor-” Nathalie cut her husband off with a glare. Sighing, he turned to his son. “How was school?”

“Good,” Adrien said, biting back a grin. “Nino and I are almost done with our modern history project. We were gonna knock out the rest of it this weekend actually, start after school tomorrow and marathon it. Is it cool if he stays for dinner tomorrow?” His tone was just a little tight, a little controlled, as though he cared more about the answer than he was willing to let on.

“Of course,” Nathalie said. “Just tomorrow? He's welcome the whole weekend.”

“Oh. Um. Actually, I was gonna go over to Mom’s on Saturday.”

“Really?” his father asked, confused. “I thought she was out of the country for another month.”

Adrien shrugged. “I just got a text from her this afternoon, I guess some last minute business in Paris came up. She said she figured she might as well make a weekend out of it before going back to… you know, whatever it is she's doing.”

“Ah.”

“Or I could have her come over here?” Adrien suggested hesitantly.

Nathalie didn't quite succeed at biting back a groan. “Adrien, you know I’m usually happy to make an effort, but I've been exhausted lately-”

“Which is why you should reconsider your current work schedule,” Gabriel muttered.

“-and all of my energy is currently going towards not murdering your father,” Nathalie continued, glaring once again. “I don't think introducing Evelyn of all people into the mix is a good idea for anybody. Maybe when she’s back next month.”

Adrien nodded. “Of course,” he said.

“Speaking of your work schedule-”

“We weren't,” Nathalie interrupted.

“I don't see why you won't even consider at the very least a reduction in-”

“Because it took me almost a year to find this job!” Nathalie exclaimed. “For _months_ , Gabriel, the only decent offers I got were from fashion companies that knew my reputation, and I couldn't take any of those because they were all with your competitors. I finally found a position outside the fashion industry where I'm respected and challenged, where my skills are put to good use. And I just took a month off for our honeymoon. I'm not taking any more time until I absolutely have to.”

“You don't _have_ to work at all.”

“Yes, I do,” Nathalie said. “Not for the money, maybe, but for my own sanity.” She turned to Adrien. “I don't suppose you could get him to drop this?”

“Are you kidding?” Adrien said. “You're way better at getting him to do stuff than I am. If I knew how to get through to my father, my life would've looked completely different.”

Gabriel scowled. “Are you two quite done discussing me as though I'm not here?”

Nathalie grinned. “If you didn’t want us teaming up against you, Gabriel, you shouldn’t have made us family.”

 

* * *

 

Nathalie was almost fully asleep by the time Gabriel came to bed. She didn’t register his presence until she felt his lips pressed against her temple. Nathalie curled against him, acting more on instinct than conscious decision-making. “Too tired,” she whispered. “Tomorrow night, I promise. Sorry.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Gabriel murmured, continuing to kiss her temple, the top of her head, the streak of red in her hair. “I’m simply apologizing.”

Nathalie yawned. “Those usually start with some version of, ‘I’m sorry’,” she said.

“I’m sorry.” Gabriel slid an arm around Nathalie’s waist and pulled her close, her naked back now pressed against his chest. “I know lately I’ve been a bit…”

“Overbearing?”

“Well, yes.” He kissed her again. “I worry.”

“The doctor said everything looks perfect,” Nathalie said, her eyes still closed.

“I know.” Gabriel sighed. “Paranoia is a more difficult habit to break than I’d anticipated, I suppose.”

“Apologies don’t usually end with excuses.”

“I’ll stop.”

Nathalie snorted. “No, you won’t.”

Gabriel bent his head down a little and pressed his lips to Nathalie’s soulmark. “I’ll work on it,” he amended. “Happy?”

“Mm hmm.” Nathalie took her husband’s hand in hers and pulled his arm around herself more tightly. Within minutes, she was asleep.

 

* * *

 

“Is that your first cup?”

Nathalie raised an eyebrow and shot Gabriel a cool look over the top of her coffee mug as he entered their kitchen. “What happened to, ‘Good morning’?” she asked, taking a sip.

“I was simply-”

“For that matter, what happened to, ‘I’ll work on it’?”

“It’s just a question.”

Nathalie took another sip. “I don’t need you micromanaging my caffeine intake, Gabriel.”

Gabriel sighed. “Good morning, Nathalie,” he said. She grinned, then placed her empty mug on the countertop before crossing the room.

“I have to run,” she said, going up on her toes and kissing his cheek. “Should I come home for lunch, or will you be working?”

Gabriel put a hand on the small of Nathalie’s back and pulled her closer for a more intimate kiss. “Come home,” he said. “I’ll move some things around, I’m sure I can come up with twenty minutes or so.”

“Twenty? You spoil me,” Nathalie teased.

“That’s twice as long as my usual lunch, you know.”

“I do.” Nathalie kissed her husband again before bidding him adieu.

 

* * *

 

Nathalie’s morning wasn’t any more hectic or stressful than usual, but she still found herself eagerly counting down the minutes until her break. Finally, noon rolled around and she gathered her things up before leaving. “I’ll be back at two,” she told the junior assistant on her way out of the reception area. “Call me if anything you can’t handle comes up.”

Nathalie had almost reached her car in the employee parking lot when she heard a “Mrs. Agreste! Mrs. Agreste!” from the other side of the lot. It took her a moment to recognize it as her name. She wasn’t sure when she’d get used to it, but it hadn’t happened yet. Nathalie looked up and saw a young, friendly-looking man approach.

“Yes?” Nathalie asked as he reached her.

He took a second to catch his breath. “Sorry,” he said, grinning apologetically. “Ian Girard.” He held his hand out, but Nathalie made no move to shake it.

“What is it?” she asked impatiently. “I’m in a hurry.”

“Right. Sorry. You’re Mr. Laurent’s assistant, right?”

“That is correct,” she said. “And?”

“Well, I’m applying for the position of his personal driver-”

“Your name isn’t on the list of applicants,” Nathalie interrupted. “I was just looking at it an hour ago.”

“Right, no, it isn’t,” Ian agreed. “That’s, uh, kind of the problem, actually, I’m having a little bit of trouble with the online application form, I was hoping to just give you my information directly?”

Nathalie bit back an irritated sigh. “I don’t have time to take it now,” she said. She opened her purse and pulled out a business card. “Here. Call this number after two and I’ll see what I can do.”

“Perfect, thanks, you’re a lifesaver.” Ian reached for the card.

As Ian’s fingers brushed against Nathalie’s, everything went black.

 

* * *

 

“You haven’t _started_?” Marinette shouted, her voice squeaking slightly on the last word.

“I’ll get around to it,” Nino said casually. “I’ve got time.”

“Nino, university applications are due in a month, this is your future, you’re not going to have enough time for revisions, what if-”

“Girl, not everybody needs fifth drafts of everything,” Alya interrupted. She patted Marinette on the shoulder, then looked at Nino. “Nino, you know Marinette gets anxiety by proxy, you know better than to tell her something like that.”

“Sorry. Seriously, though, it’s fine, you know I work best under pressure.” Nino pulled out his wallet and threw a few bills down onto the pile at the center of their table. “That should cover my part of lunch, right? We ready to head back to school?”

“Yeah, let’s-hang on.” Adrien pulled his phone out of his pocket and read the alert. Nino leaned over, draping his arm around Adrien’s shoulders to get a better look.

“Is that from your dad?” Nino asked. “I didn’t even know he knew how to text.”

“Neither did I.” Adrien read the message aloud. “‘Have you heard from Nathalie?’. Huh.” He typed back a quick response, then got up. As the group made their way to the exit, Adrien’s phone buzzed again. He read the new message, then froze.

“What’s wrong?” Marinette asked.

“I don’t know. My father just sent a message asking where I am, insisting I stay put until the bodyguard he’s sending can pick me up.” He frowned as his phone continued to buzz. “I guess he can’t get in touch with Nathalie.”

Alya raised an eyebrow. “So, what, your stepmom’s phone died and now your dad’s freaking out?”

Adrien sighed. “Yeah, probably,” he said.

“You want us to wait with you?” Nino asked as they left the restaurant.

“No, you guys head back to school,” Adrien said quickly. “Let the teacher know I had a family emergency. It’s probably nothing though. Alya’s right, my father’s been panicking over every little thing with Nathalie lately.” His three friends hesitated in unison. “Seriously, go,” he insisted, and they finally did so, waving goodbye reluctantly as they went.

About a minute later, Adrien’s phone buzzed again. To his surprise, the message this time was not from his father, but from Marinette. _Let me know if anything’s wrong_ , she sent. Then, a few moments later, _Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help_. Then, just in case Adrien hadn’t gotten the underlying message, she followed it up with an emoji of a ladybug. Smiling to himself, Adrien typed a message back: _I will. Thank you_ , added a green paw print, and pressed send.

 

* * *

 

Adrien entered his father’s office just as the man was slamming a phone down. “Adrien, how many more thousands of euros do I need to donate to the damn police department before it actually transforms into a functional organization?” he demanded. A second later he seemed to realize who he was talking to, and he narrowed his eyes in concern. “Are you alright?” he asked.

“Yeah, of course,” Adrien said. “What’s going on? Nathalie’s not answering her phone?”

Gabriel raised an eyebrow. “Do give me some credit, Adrien, I would not have pulled you out of school if Nathalie were simply not answering her phone. She screens half the calls I make to her nowadays anyway.”

“Oh,” Adrien said. “So-”

“She left her office for lunch,” Gabriel said. “She was going to come back here, but she never made it to her car. It’s still sitting in the parking lot.” Adrien paled. “Nobody approached you, spoke to you, nothing unusual happened to you today?”

Adrien shook his head. “No, nothing weird,” he said.

“Hmm.” Gabriel tapped his fingers against his desk for a moment. “I need you to search Paris for her. I’ll continue to make calls, pull strings, take advantage of whatever connections I can, but if something sinister has happened to her, mundane methods won’t find her quickly enough. You can cover the entire city in an hour or so, correct?”

Adrien nodded. “Yeah, but…” he frowned. “I don't know, finding people, that's not really something we’ve had to do before.”

Gabriel scowled. “I could scan the entire city for her in a matter of minutes if I had the-” he stopped himself from finishing the sentence. “Well, nevermind. I'm sure you and Ladybug will do your best.”

Adrien nodded. “We’ll find her.” Gabriel nodded, then picked up his office phone and began dialing. Adrien left the office, pulling out his phone and reading the last message he'd sent Marinette before typing a new one: _Something’s wrong_.

About thirty seconds later, her response came through: _On my way_.

 

* * *

 

Twelve hours later, none of them were any closer to finding Nathalie than when they'd begun searching.

Adrien returned to the mansion from his sixth search of the city, dropping his transformation as he landed through the open window of his bedroom before making his way back downstairs to his father’s study. Inside, he found his father sitting at the desk staring blankly at the phone, and Nino asleep on the room’s small couch, his cell phone in one hand and a list of all the city’s hospitals in the other. Nino had called once school let out, and insisted on coming over the second he'd heard what was going on. He'd been calling hospitals ever since arriving, checking for any Jane Does that even vaguely matched Nathalie’s physical description.

Adrien walked over to his father’s side. “Nothing,” Gabriel whispered as his son reached him. “Nobody knows anything. What is the point of being one of the most powerful men in Paris if this is what it gets me when someone I love is in need?”

Before Adrien could answer, the door to the study opened again and Ladybug walked through. Her face was just as grim as it had been when she’d left a couple of hours earlier, and Adrien’s heart sank. “Nothing?” he whispered.

“I’m sorry,” Ladybug said. “The Guardian wasn’t able to find her.”

“I could find her,” Gabriel said immediately. “If I had-”

“Nobody thinks it’s a good idea for you to have a Miraculous,” Ladybug snapped. Gabriel clenched his jaw.

“Nathalie returned the Butterfly Miraculous to him two years ago,” Gabriel said. “The Guardian owes it to her to use every tool at his disposal to attempt to find her. If he won’t give it back to me, someone else should wield it. Although whoever he gives it to, I must say, will not be nearly as experienced using it as I am, or as intimately familiar with Nathalie’s emotional signature.” His voice softened. “Please. Please, I would not take advantage of this, not with my wife’s well-being on the line.”

Ladybug bit her lip. “I’m sorry,” she repeated, “but the Guardian has his own methods of scanning the city, methods that are way more accurate than anything the Butterfly Miraculous can accomplish.”

“And?” Adrien asked, his voice a whisper. Ladybug looked at him and sighed.

“The Guardian,” she said slowly, “doesn’t think Nathalie is in Paris at all. He wasn’t able to detect any trace of her whatsoever. Even if she was… even if something had happened to her, he’d be able to pick up on something. Unlike the Butterfly Miraculous,” she added, looking at Gabriel pointedly, “which would be useless if she was unconscious or-well. Anyway. The Guardian will search beyond the city, but the larger the radius gets the longer it takes him to get accurate results.”

Gabriel nodded. “I see.” For a moment it looked like he might say more, but then he simply returned his gaze to the silent phone sitting on the desk before him. Adrien and Ladybug exchanged a glance, and then Adrien sighed and walked out of the study. Ladybug followed him to one of the mansion’s side entrances.

“Thanks,” he said, as he opened the door. “I really… you don’t know how much this means to me. You don’t know how much Nathalie-” his voice broke, and Ladybug immediately threw her arms around him.

“It’s okay, kitty,” she murmured. “It’s going to be okay.”

“You don’t know that,” Adrien whispered. Ladybug sighed.

“I know. I’m sorry. I wish I could do more, I wish my powers were any use here, but… I could search the city again, maybe at this hour with everyone asleep it would be easier for me to pick up on-”

“No,” Adrien interrupted. “No, you’ve done way more than enough. You should go home, get some sleep. We’ll regroup tomorrow.”

“Are you sure?” Adrien nodded. “Well… okay, but you get some sleep, too. Promise? You won’t be any good to Nathalie if you’re a zombie.”

Adrien nodded. “I promise. And I’ll call if anything comes up.”

“Good.” Ladybug gave Adrien a quick, comforting peck on the cheek, and then she was gone.

Sighing, Adrien closed the door behind her and made his way back to the study. His father hadn’t moved a muscle. “You should go upstairs, get some sleep,” Adrien said.

“No. Someone might call.”

“At this hour?”

“Adrien, I honestly don’t know what kind of hours kidnappers and ransomers keep,” Gabriel replied. “Shockingly, this is the first I’ve had to deal with any.”

“There’s a phone in your room,” Adrien pointed out. “You should-”

“Adrien.” Gabriel closed his eyes for a moment, his expression pained. “Adrien, do not ask me to go upstairs again, do not ask me to go to that bed alone.”

After a moment, Adrien sighed. “Okay,” he said softly. He crossed the room and sat down next to Nino, still asleep on the couch. Adrien pried the list of hospitals from Nino’s grasp, scanned the list for the first name not crossed off, then pulled out his phone and began dialing the number.


	2. Chapter 2

Nathalie opened her eyes. “Good,” a voice somewhere to the left of her said, “you’re awake. You certainly took your time about it.”

Nathalie slowly sat up, glaring in the general direction of the voice as she put a hand to the mattress beneath her, steadying herself. “Ian,” she muttered. “Is that your real name, out of curiosity?”

“It is, actually,” Ian replied. “You’re not going to remember any of this anyway, so I figured why bother with a fake one?”

“Of course. I suppose it’s safe to assume you’re not applying to the open position for Mr. Laurent’s new personal driver?”

Ian laughed. “God, no. My actual career is far more lucrative.”

“What, kidnapping?” Nathalie asked. “Seems a bit high risk to make an entire career out of it.” She blinked rapidly, trying to clear her vision, before she realized why that was futile. “Where are my glasses?”

“I think they fell off back in Paris,” Ian said. “Don’t worry, though, I don’t need you to be able to see for tonight. You’ll get them back when I’m done with you.”

“Lovely. And what is it, exactly, that you’re planning on doing with me?”

“Oh, you’ll find out soon enough.” Ian tossed a wadded-up piece of cloth at her. “Put that on.”

Nathalie shook out the item, squinted at it, and groaned. “Really?” she asked, more annoyed than anything. “The abductor insisting his female captive wear something fancy? Isn’t that cliche a bit worn out?”

“Don’t flatter yourself, I couldn’t care less what you’re wearing. I just need your back visible. You can wear the blouse I’ve thoughtfully provided for you, or nothing at all. It makes absolutely no difference to me whatsoever.”

“For what, a ransom photo?” Nathalie asked. “You really think my soulmark is more recognizable than my face? Trust me, Gabriel isn’t going to-”

“You are not even close to guessing what is going on here,” Ian interrupted, “and I’m not going to waste time explaining anything to you. Just do what you’re told.” He stood. “I’m going to leave you alone for five minutes. The door, obviously, will be locked. If I can’t clearly see your soulmark when I return, or if I think you’ve wasted those five minutes attempting some kind of pathetic escape, we are going to have a problem.” Ian left the room before Nathalie could respond, slamming the door behind him. A second later, Nathalie heard a loud deadbolt slide into place.

Nathalie immediately patted her pockets down. Nothing. No cell phone, no keys, nothing that could be of any use to her whatsoever. Sighing, Nathalie looked at her watch, holding it close to her face in order to read it. Her jaw dropped slightly.

9:18.

Nine hours. She'd been unconscious for nine hours. In the possession of this man she knew nothing about. God only knew what had happened in that time, where she'd been taken, what Ian had been up to while she slept. God only knew what Gabriel was going through, what Adrien was going through, since she'd disappeared.

Nathalie looked around the room. No windows, no other exits, no furniture save for the bed she’d woken up on. Squinting, she looked up. There was an air vent near the ceiling, right above her, but it was far too small to fit through, even if she could have gotten the cover off noiselessly in five minutes, which she doubted.

Sighing, Nathalie began to remove her button-up.

 

* * *

 

“I see you’ve chosen to cooperate,” Ian said as he re-entered the room. “That’s very smart of you.”

“You can spare me the niceties,” Nathalie snapped. “I’m not in the mood.”

Her captor raised an eyebrow. “I doubt you’re in the mood for what I’m like when I’m not nice,” he said coldly, “and you can spare _me_ the talkback. I thought it went without saying, but your role for the rest of the evening is a silent one, understand?” Nathalie said nothing to this. “Good.” Ian grabbed her elbow and pulled her up. Nathalie struggled to keep up as he quickly dragged her out the room and down a narrow hallway.

As they turned a corner, Nathalie caught sight of the house’s front door. Without thinking, she twisted her arm around, easily breaking out of Ian’s grasp, and made a run for it. She got about two steps away before her legs froze beneath her.

Shit. It would be a fucking sorcerer, wouldn't it?

Ian calmly walked up to her, circling around to look her right in the eye. He studied Nathalie silently for a moment, then backhanded her suddenly across the face. “That’s your one freebie,” he said angrily. “Try anything like that again, and I promise you will regret it.” Ian grabbed Nathalie’s arm once more, and her legs began working again. They reached the end of the hallway, and Ian opened a door before quickly pulling Nathalie inside.

Nathalie only got a quick, blurry look around. A stool. Above it, the small room’s only light source. Beyond that, at the edges of the room, four figures standing in the shadows. Ian quickly pushed Nathalie onto the stool, at which point the light was pointed directly into her face and she could no longer make out anything at all. Her feet didn't quite meet the floor, and she instinctively grabbed either side of the small seat for balance as it swiveled a few inches to the right.

“My apologies for the delay, everyone,” Ian said. “Sleeping Beauty here was a lot more sensitive to a knockout spell than I anticipated.” Nathalie heard one or two soft chuckles. She couldn't glare at their sources directly, so she settled for keeping her expression as neutral as she could, unwilling to give anyone in the audience the satisfaction of her fear. “Now that everything’s ready, I’ll waste no more time in telling you why you’re all here.”

“Your message promised the opportunity of a lifetime,” Nathalie heard a voice say. “And for the price it cited, it would have to be.”

“That’s right, Victor,” Ian replied cheerfully. “My friends, to put it plainly, I have discovered an ingenious method for harnessing the magical power of a soul-link itself.” He paused, looking around the room. “I can see you’re all skeptical, and I completely understand. This is one of the holy grails of power acquisition we’re talking about, after all. To put your minds at ease, I’ll be demonstrating the method on this subject.” Ian placed a hand on Nathalie’s shoulder, snapping her out of her shock, and she slapped his hand away angrily. He immediately put it back, this time digging his fingertips into her shoulder so tightly that Nathalie had to clench her jaw to keep from crying out. “Cooperate,” Ian hissed.

“Why the hell would I do that, if either way you’re going to subject me to some creepy magic-” Nathalie stopped talking as her air supply was abruptly cut off. Ian leaned down.

“Listen,” he said gently. “You have control over very little in this situation, you know? You have no power, while my friends and I have more than you can possibly imagine. This demonstration, it's happening whether you like it or not. You don't have any control over that.” Ian spoke slowly and paused frequently, drawing out Nathalie’s suffocation. The room began to spin slightly. “What you _do_ have control over,” he continued, “is whether this is a painless experience for you or not. It can be, I promise. It can also be excruciating. Is that what you’d prefer?” Nathalie tried to answer before remembering that was futile and instead settled for shaking her head. “Good.” Ian straightened, and Nathalie started breathing again. She did her best to keep from hyperventilating but it was a few seconds of frantically gulping air before she managed to get her breathing under control again.

“Question,” a new voice said. “How do we know her soul-link is genuine? I know you’ve got a reputation, Ian, but this is pretty far-fetched. People have claimed to have this kind of knowledge before, and it’s always a scam. I don’t want to be taken in by some convincing illusion of a mark disappearing that was never really there in the first place.”

“Why, that’s why I picked her, Daniel,” Ian said, as though it were obvious. “She’s got one of the most high-profile marks in Paris. Are you telling me you don’t recognize her?” Ian looked around the room again. “I can tell everybody else does. Well, if you don’t recognize her, you’ll recognize her mark, I’m sure.” Ian grabbed Nathalie’s shoulder again, and this time spun her around so her back was facing the others. She shivered at the breeze this produced, the cold air of the room whipping against her bared back. She heard Daniel gasp softly. “Satisfied?” Ian asked.

“Very,” Daniel replied, sounding impressed.

“I have a question,” a new, feminine, voice said. “What are the side effects? To the subjects, that is.”

Before Ian could respond, Nathalie let out a loud groan. “Oh, you have got to be _fucking_ kidding me,” she said before she could stop herself.

“If I have to tell you to be quiet one more time,” Ian snapped, “I will personally make sure you are no longer capable of speech.”

“Friend of yours?” Victor asked the woman.

“Hardly,” she replied. “That’s my ex-husband’s blushing new bride.”

“Really?” Victor said, not sounding a bit amused. “That strikes me as far too unlikely to be a coincidence.”

“Me as well,” Evelyn agreed. “Ian, care to enlighten us?”

“Well,” Ian said, “I needed a well known soulmate pair anyway, I’ve explained. And Miss Moreau, I normally don’t reach out to women with these kinds of opportunities. In my experience, the fairer sex tends to be uneasy with inflicting these kinds of treatments, especially on strangers. But your reputation for power acquisition precedes you; leaving you out of the deal was unthinkable. So I thought, instead of a pair of strangers, the whole thing might be considerably more palatable to you if I used your ex-husband and his new wife. Hell hath no fury, and so on.”

For a moment, Evelyn was speechless. “Your insight into the female psyche is astonishing,” she said dryly. “So… side effects?”

Ian laughed. “Let’s just say I wouldn’t recommend performing this on anyone who owes you money,” he said. There were a few laughs, but they died quickly.

“Ian,” Evelyn said slowly, her voice pure ice, “I don’t know about the rest of the geniuses you’ve assembled here, but I for one do not find ambiguity to be _cute_. And while I appreciate the gesture, I can’t help but feel a bit concerned that you’ve chosen subjects so very closely related to myself. If they both drop dead tonight, I’m going to be the police’s first suspect, and you’ve managed to lure me here without any kind of an alibi. So I am going to ask this again, and this time I expect a clear, detailed answer. What. Are. The side effects?”

Ian hesitated, momentarily stunned. “They won’t die tonight,” he finally managed to say. “They’ll wake up tomorrow without their soulmarks, but otherwise they’ll feel perfectly fine. Slowly, over the next few months, their health will deteriorate. They’ll both be dead within half a year, and by all appearances it will be of completely natural causes. There’s no chance of you, or anyone else in this room, being implicated, I assure you. Satisfied?”

“I suppose,” Evelyn replied begrudgingly.

“Good. Are there any more questions?”

“How about the one question that actually matters?” another new voice asked. “What kind of power gains are we talking about? The theoretical boost from severing a soul-link is, what, tenfold? Is your method anywhere close to that?”

“An excellent question, Rene,” Ian said smoothly. “The method is, I must admit, in early stages. I have every confidence that with time, and the efforts of dedicated experts such as yourselves, we could come very close to the theoretical limit one day.”

Rene groaned. “I didn't come all this way for a method that was still in the working stages, Ian.”

“It's not,” Ian promised. “The method is fully functional, I have every confidence in that. The numbers simply aren't quite where I'd like them to be yet, that's all.”

“So where are they?” Daniel asked.

“At minimum, this method will triple your output,” Ian said. “Far better than any power boost I currently know of. On average, I believe it will quintuple.”

“For how long?” Evelyn asked, her voice still tight and wary.

“A few months,” Ian said. “Not long enough to practically sustain indefinitely, I admit, given the requirements,” he put a hand on Nathalie’s shoulder once more, and Nathalie gripped the sides of her seat so hard her knuckles turned white, “but more than enough time to accomplish any major project or goals.”

“Impressive,” Victor murmured.

“Worth the price, yes?” Ian asked, his tone bright once more. He grabbed Nathalie’s elbow suddenly and yanked her up to a standing position, “I’ll put the subject back in her room for now, safely out of the way. If everybody here is interested in acquiring this technique,” Ian looked around for a moment to make sure they all were, “then once I return I’ll begin showing you all the prep work.” He left the room without another word, dragging Nathalie behind him. She said nothing as they made their way back down the hallway to the bare room Nathalie had woken up in.

Once they entered, Ian pushed her towards the bed. “Sit,” he said curtly, and Nathalie slowly lowered herself to the edge of the mattress. “Wrists.” He pulled out a pair of handcuffs and locked Nathalie’s left wrist in one, then pulled the other around a piece of the headboard’s metal frame before locking her right wrist in. “Normally I’d just knock you out again,” he said, almost apologetically, “but I need you awake in an hour or so, and I don’t need you taking forever to wake up, you already delayed me two hours the first time. So just try to keep your mind off things until I come back, and don’t do anything stupid.”

“Keep my mind off things,” Nathalie repeated numbly. “Like the fact that I’m going to die.”

Ian shrugged. “We all die,” he said. Nathalie didn’t have the energy to glare at him. “Look, if it makes you feel any better, you’re not going to remember any of this. One quick and easy memory wipe and you’ll wake up in Paris tomorrow morning none the wiser.”

“I’ll still know something’s wrong,” Nathalie said. “I’ve been missing all day. My husband’s going to want to know why and I won’t remember. And our soulmarks will be gone.”

“True,” Ian admitted. “Still, you won’t know you’re dying for a while, for whatever that’s worth.”

“Why are you pretending to care how I feel about any of this?”

Ian’s expression hardened. “You’re right,” he said coldly. “Sit there and have yourself a panic attack for the next hour for all I care.” He got up and left the room, slamming the door behind him.

Nathalie listened carefully, but she didn’t hear the loud deadbolt slide into place this time.

Well, she was handcuffed to the bed. What would be the point of locking the door in addition to that?

After all, it wasn’t as though Nathalie had plenty of recreational experience with handcuffs.

Or that she’d lost the key to her set about a month ago, and had thus spent a good deal of time studying detailed online video guides for how to break out of them.

Or that she preferred a hairstyle which meant she had a dozen or so lockpicks on her person at all times.

Nathalie forced herself to wait, to count out ten minutes’ worth of seconds, to be absolutely certain that Ian would not be returning anytime soon. Then she leaned forward as far as she could, bent her head down so she could reach her bun, and pulled out a bobby pin. She bit the end to a ninety-degree angle and got to work.

Five minutes later, she was free.

Nathalie allowed herself a moment, a heavy sigh of relief, before refocusing. She still had to sneak out of this damn house without being detected. She removed her heels and left them on the bed, then slowly pressed her bare feet to the floor, making sure the floorboards didn’t creak. She made her way to the door, turned the knob, pulled the door open, all the while listening for any noise she might be making. Carefully she exited the room, sticking as closely as she could to the wall. About ten feet down she stopped and listened. Nothing. The rest of them must be back in that other room, she figured, and it must be soundproofed. Well, soundproofing went both ways, didn't it? Relaxing slightly, Nathalie continued to make her way towards the front door she'd seen earlier. She turned the corner-

-and ran straight into Evelyn.


	3. Chapter 3

Evelyn had been in Madaba for about three weeks when she got the message.

About six weeks earlier, she’d uncovered a new method of power augmentation, a way to attune pieces of her own magic to the Dead Sea. It was a complicated process, and it would take a few more weeks at least, but Evelyn was sure it would be well worth the effort in the end, and it was exactly the kind of work she loved anyway.

When Evelyn first looked at the message and saw it was from Ian Girard, she almost deleted it without reading any further. Evelyn knew of him, she had a healthy respect for his abilities, but she and Ian had very different philosophies when it came to power. For two of the most powerful sorcerers in Europe, their paths rarely crossed. Ian’s methods were all about temporary boosts. Easier to master, and better results in the short term certainly, but those results would fade without a constant influx of external energy sources. Evelyn, on the other hand, prefered to stick with permanent power acquisitions and enhancements. It was slower, it was harder, but Evelyn felt it was worth it to be able to rely solely on her own magic and nothing else.

Still, Evelyn skimmed the e-mail. It was vague, no surprise there, but Evelyn found herself rereading the details once she’d finished. If she was being honest, the detail that really caught her attention was the price. For a number that high, Ian was either going against his usual modus operandi and selling a permanant technique, or he’d discovered a kind of temporary power boost so strong that even Evelyn hesitated to ignore it. At any rate, it was only one evening out of her life, and Evelyn could always turn the offer down after hearing what it was. She could afford to suspend her work in Jordan for a weekend trip, and she could surprise Adrien a few weeks early. After a quick five-minute deliberation, she booked the flight.

 

* * *

 

So far, Evelyn was underwhelmed.

She’d landed in Paris with just enough time to make it to Ian’s apartment, where he’d insisted she leave behind her personal belongings before teleporting her to God-knew-where. Evelyn had been expecting that. What she hadn’t been expecting was to then be standing around in a small, mostly bare room with three other strangers for what felt like forever, with absolutely no word from Ian on how much longer they’d have to wait.

After about twenty minutes, Evelyn figured she might as well make use of the time Ian seemed intent on wasting and network a little. She preferred to work independently whenever possible, of course, but it was impossible to avoid other sorcerers entirely and it never hurt to make a good impression. She approached the nearest one with a smile, holding out her hand as she reached him. “Evelyn Moreau,” she said.

“Victor Roux,” he replied genially, taking her hand and kissing the back of it. “An honor to make your acquaintance. Your reputation precedes you.”

“And yours; I believe I've taken advantage of quite a bit of your work from the nineties on ley lines. It's nice to have a face to put to the research.”

“You flatter me,” Victor replied. “I don’t believe I’ve ever seen you at one of Ian’s demonstrations before.”

Evelyn shrugged. “He usually doesn't extend an invitation,” she replied. “This one piqued my curiosity. You don't know any details, do you?”

“None whatsoever. Ian never gives out any in advance.” Victor leaned forward conspiratorially. “Between you and me, he tends towards the theatrical.”

Evelyn grinned. “I'm sure we all do somewhat, or we wouldn't have gotten into this line of work.”

Victor laughed. “That's true,” he admitted.

“Does Ian usually run this far behind, out of curiosity? I can certainly appreciate being fashionably late for the sake of an entrance, but this is pushing it.”

“Not at all,” Victor replied. “He's usually very punctual, actually. If I had to guess, I'd say he botched a knockout spell. Unusual for him, considering how often he casts them, but,” Victor shrugged, “what else could it be?”

Evelyn blinked. “Knockout spell? On whom?”

“Oh, whoever the lucky volunteer for the evening is,” Victor said sarcastically. He noticed Evelyn’s blank look. “Oh, that's right, you're not familiar with Ian’s methods.”

“I know he tends to prefer shortcuts,” Evelyn replied.

“Right. Well, shortcuts come at a price more often than not. And,” Victor chuckled, “I mean, Ian’s not going to pay it, is he?”

“Oh,” Evelyn said. “I see.”

“That's not going to be a problem, is it?” Victor asked. “Ian hates it when clients start, you know, moralizing.”

“I have no intention of doing anything of the sort,” Evelyn replied immediately. “I'm not his keeper. He can do whatever he likes so long as it doesn't interfere with my life or work.”

Two years ago, Evelyn would have meant it, too. She wasn't naive, after all; she knew there were plenty of sorcerers who did such things. For the vast majority of her career, Evelyn had figured that as long as she wasn't doing it personally, what other people did was neither her business nor her responsibility. Now, though, somewhat to her annoyance, she couldn't help but think it was the kind of thing Adrien would get upset about. They warned you about so many things when you had a child, about how difficult and expensive and exhausting it would be. They never warned you that the child might grow up to be the conscience you never asked for.

“But it's a deal-breaker for you personally, is that it?” Victor asked.

“Oh, I don't really like shortcuts anyway,” Evelyn said dismissively. “And I prefer to keep my business legal. Less work in the long term, I find.”

“I haven't bothered worrying about the law at all since I mastered memory spells,” Victor replied, “but to each his own.” He looked at Evelyn. “Actually, while I’ve got you here,” he said, “I’d love to pick your brain about your work in Tibet, if you don’t mind?”

Evelyn pushed her unexpected moral qualms aside. She could worry about it all later, the next time she saw Adrien. She was here now, so there was nothing to do but go along with it. “Of course,” Evelyn said warmly, “I’d be happy to discuss my work. It’s not as though I have anything else to do, after all.”

It was over ninety minutes later before anything happened, though the time passed far more quickly after Evelyn began chatting with Victor. Finally, though, the lights in the room dimmed, save for a single light over a stool on the other side of the room.

“You weren’t kidding about that theatrical thing,” Evelyn murmured. Victor chuckled, but before he could respond the door opened and Ian entered the room. He was making his apologies for the delay, Victor was shooting Evelyn an I-told-you-so look, but Evelyn barely registered any of it. She was too busy staring at the woman Ian had dragged in behind him.

 _Oh, you have got to be fucking kidding me_ , Evelyn thought.

 

* * *

 

Evelyn stared at the closed door, still stunned. “Well, that was new,” an amused Victor said behind her, snapping her out of her daze.

“Ian doesn’t typically pick subjects related to the people he’s selling to, then?” Evelyn asked.

“First I’ve seen,” Victor replied easily, “and I’ve been working with him for years.” He took a step next to her. “You don’t seem as thrilled as Ian expects you to be.”

Evelyn wracked her brain. “They’ve got primary custody of my son,” she finally said. “The subjects.”

“You have a son?”

“It’s a very convenient arrangement for me, and obviously it goes away if they both drop dead. Having full custody of him will interfere with my work.” Evelyn turned to Victor. “I don’t suppose Ian could be persuaded to let her go and pick some other pair?”

“After that display?” Victor asked wryly. “Not a chance. Sorry. How old’s your son?”

“Eighteen,” Evelyn admitted. “But he’s still in school,” she added quickly.

“He’ll be fine,” Victor said dismissively. “Cheer up. The technique has got to be worth the inconvenience, right? I mean, Jesus, severing a soul-link. I honestly never thought I’d live to see the day. And besides, some part of you must be at least a little pleased it’s happening to them. Losing your husband to a soulmate, that’s gotta sting. Happened to my wife’s sister, actually, ten years and she’s still not over it. If she got an opportunity like this, you can bet she’d jump at it.”

“Maybe I’m not that petty,” Evelyn replied.

Victor laughed. “We’re all that petty,” he said. “It’s just not all of us admit it.”

Before Evelyn could respond, Ian returned, carrying a giant bag of supplies, and immediately began addressing the room. “Alright, the prep work for this is pretty extensive, so I’d like to-”

“Ian,” Evelyn interrupted, “I’m afraid I’m going to have to object to your choice in subjects.”

The room went dead silent. Ian stared at her wordlessly for a moment, clearly taken aback at being interrupted. “I picked them specifically with you in mind,” he said.

“Yes, I’m aware,” Evelyn replied coolly, crossing her arms. “However, you must be aware that I am an extremely powerful sorceress in her own right.”

Ian straightened defensively. “So?”

“So did it not occur to you,” Evelyn said, slowly and precisely, “that if I wanted my ex-husband or his new wife dead, they’d be dead already?”

“Well, I thought perhaps-”

“Their deaths will be extremely inconvenient for me,” Evelyn continued. “The more I think about it, the less I like it. You’re going to have to use someone else.”

Ian glared. “Absolutely not,” he said. “It took me weeks to scout this pair out properly. And to be quite honest, after dealing with that woman I find myself looking forward to it on a purely personal level.”

Evelyn rolled her eyes. “Yes, that sounds like Nathalie,” she said wryly. “All the same, I have to insist on-”

“Is this really about convenience?” Ian interrupted.

Evelyn raised an eyebrow. “What else would it be about?”

Ian shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe I had you pegged wrong. I assumed you’d have enough self-respect to want revenge on the man who rejected you for a woman ten years younger-”

“Nobody _rejected_ me,” Evelyn interrupted angrily, “I was done with him two years before those damn marks even showed up. What he does with his life now is of no concern to-”

“-but now I’m starting to think maybe you’re not really over him,” Ian finished. “Maybe you’re still in love with Gabriel Agreste, and that’s why you’re trying to stop me from cutting his soul-link.”

“ _Excuse_ me?”

Ian closed the distance between them and looked down at Evelyn. “Did you hear what I told your replacement?” he asked, his voice growing quiet. “About how much control she had over whether this demonstration happened or not?”

“Yes, I heard your little ‘We can do this the easy way or we can do this the hard way’ speech,” Evelyn said icily. “It sounded very well rehearsed.”

“Well, the same goes for you,” Ian said. “This demonstration is happening. You can either stay here and learn from it, and be a part of the biggest breakthrough in the field of magic in the last three centuries, or you can turn down my very generous offer, in which case I’ll wipe your memory of the evening, take you back to Paris, and we’ll part ways forever. Which is it?”

Evelyn clenched her jaw briefly, getting her temper under control. “I’ll stay,” she managed to say.

“Good,” Ian said. He turned around and began rummaging through the bag of supplies he’d brought in with him. “This is why I don’t work with women,” he muttered loudly. “Even the strong ones are weak where it counts.”

As Evelyn felt her fingertips begin to pool with power, Ian’s back completely turned to her and his attention now totally diverted, it occurred to Evelyn that Victor had been right.

She really was that petty.

 

* * *

 

Evelyn had almost made it to the end of the hallway when she collided, quite unexpectedly, with someone. Adrenaline still running high, she threw up an open palm and froze the figure before she realized who it was. A second later, she sighed in relief. “Jesus, Nathalie, you scared me,” Evelyn said, half laughing. Nathalie glared at her silently. “Right, sorry.” Evelyn waved her hand and released her.

“What are you doing?” Nathalie demanded in a whisper.

“Well,” Evelyn said casually, “I _was_ on my way to rescue you. But you seem to have everything under control, so I guess I'll just get out of your way.”

Nathalie raised an eyebrow skeptically. “Rescue me? After your friend went to all the trouble of kidnapping me just for you?”

Evelyn rolled her eyes. “Yes, that was a particularly obnoxious miscalculation on his part. Don't worry, though, it's the last one he’ll ever make.”

Nathalie’s face went a shade paler. “What does that mean?”

Evelyn nodded her head in the direction she'd come from, and Nathalie noticed a door ajar a few meters away. “See for yourself,” Evelyn said lightly.

Apprehensively, Nathalie walked past Evelyn to the open door and stuck her head in. Half a second later she'd quickly pulled back out, covering her mouth with her hand. “Oh my God,” she said weakly.

Evelyn raised an eyebrow. “I really didn't think you'd object, all things considered,” she said. “You're not going to throw up, are you?”

Nathalie shook her head, but her face was almost green and she kept her mouth covered. “No, I just… could have used a warning.”

“Well, I would have given you one if I'd known you were going to be such a baby about it.”

“You killed all of them!”

“Don't be so melodramatic, I killed one of them,” Evelyn corrected. “The other three will wake up tomorrow. Probably. Anyway, you heard what Ian said about me. My delicate female sensibilities can't handle murder, can they? I mean, he was practically daring me to kill him at that point.” Nathalie’s expression did not change. “Oh, lighten up, I was joking. I assure you, killing Ian was not optional. It was either him or you, he made that very clear.”

“You do this kind of thing a lot?” Nathalie asked, still sounding weak and now leaning heavily against the wall.

“What, rescue beautiful damsels in distress from evil sorcerers? Not at all,” Evelyn said, her eyes lighting up. “It's exhilarating. You know, I wrote off the whole hero thing ages ago but now I'm really beginning to see the appeal.”

Nathalie blinked. “I meant homicide,” she finally said.

“Oh,” Evelyn said, her face falling slightly. “That. I'd rather not say, if it's all the same to you.” She paused, studying Nathalie’s face. “You _really_ don't look good.”

“Just give me another minute, I'll be fine.”

“I didn't peg you as the queasy type, you know.”

“I'm not. It's,” Nathalie closed her eyes as another wave of nausea hit, “a recent development.”

“What is that supposed to…” Evelyn trailed off and her eyes widened. “Oh my God, you're pregnant,” she said accusingly.

Nathalie ignored this for a moment, focusing on getting rid of her nausea through sheer force of will. “So what if I am?” she asked.

“Good Lord, you’ve been married for what, three months? Gabriel doesn't waste any time, does he? What were you thinking?”

Nathalie glared. “We were thinking,” she said, “that neither of us is getting any younger and the window is closing faster than we’d like. We both wanted it, so there didn't seem to be any point in waiting. If I'd known one of your psychopathic friends was going to kidnap me, I assure you I would have put it off a few more months.”

“No wonder you were so sensitive to that knockout spell,” Evelyn muttered to herself. Nathalie’s eyes widened slightly.

“Are they dangerous?” Nathalie asked, with a casualness that was obviously entirely affected. “Knockout spells? For pregnancies?”

Evelyn bit her lip. “I'm sure you'll be fine,” she said, but she could tell she’d paused just a little too long for Nathalie’s comfort. “Come on. I wiped everyone’s memories of us being here, but we should be as far away as possible when they finally wake up. Is there any evidence lying around that you were here?”

“My shoes,” Nathalie said. “Back in the room Ian was keeping me in, I didn’t want to make any noise.” Evelyn nodded, and the two women made their way back down the hall and into the room. Nathalie walked over to the bed as Evelyn glanced around.

“Those your personal set?” Evelyn asked, nodding towards the handcuffs Nathalie had obviously picked her way out of.

“Hilarious,” Nathalie said dryly. “So where are we, anyway?” she asked, sitting on the mattress and putting her heels back on.

“No idea,” Evelyn replied. “Very far away from another living soul, I'm sure of that much. Ian teleported us all from his apartment in Paris. Standard stuff, teleport everyone to the middle of nowhere, completely cut off from the rest of the world. That's a look,” she added wryly as Nathalie threw on her original button-up shirt over the blouse she was now wearing.

“It's nighttime,” Nathalie said defensively, “and I wasn't wearing a coat when I was abducted. Right now I care more about layers than fashion.”

Evelyn snorted. “Don’t let Gabriel hear you say that.”

Nathalie’s face fell. “I don’t suppose we could call him and let him know I’m alive?”

Evelyn shook her head. “Sorry. No cell phones. That’s standard too, I'm afraid. These kinds of deals tend to be made as far removed from civilization as possible. You can bet we won’t find a car or a landline anywhere on the premises, either.”

“How the hell were you all planning on getting back to Paris?”

“The teleport Ian set up goes both ways,” Evelyn said. “Unfortunately, it died with him. I'm afraid we’re stuck walking.”

“Walking where?” Nathalie asked. In response, Evelyn closed her eyes and began muttering under her breath in a language Nathalie didn’t even recognize, much less understand. After a few minutes she opened her eyes and pointed in a random direction.

“Nearest living person is that way,” Evelyn said. “Probably about...twenty kilometers.”

Nathalie blinked. “Well, of course,” she said. “What better way to round out the day I’ve had than with a twenty kilometer hike. In the middle of nowhere. In the middle of the night. In heels. With you.”

Evelyn grinned, then held out her hand to Nathalie, helping the woman to her feet. “Shall we, then?”


	4. Chapter 4

“This looks like a good place to stop,” Evelyn said as they reached a small clearing.

Surprised, Nathalie turned to Evelyn. “Why would we stop?” she asked.

“We’ve been walking for almost three hours,” Evelyn said.

“And we’re still in the middle of nowhere,” Nathalie replied.

“I’m tired.”

Nathalie narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “No, you’re not,” she said. “You just think _I’m_ tired.”

Evelyn folded her arms. “Are you?”

“Not as tired as I am eager to get back to civilization,” Nathalie said impatiently. “Gabriel and Adrien must be worried sick.”

“I’m sure they’d much rather wait a few more hours if it means you don’t collapse from overexertion in your condition,” Evelyn pointed out.

Nathalie rolled her eyes. “Don’t start, I get enough of that ‘in your condition’ nonsense from Gabriel,” she said. “Besides, I’m sure a little extra walking isn’t as bad for the baby as hypothermia or getting eaten by wolves.”

“Don’t be silly, we’ll be perfectly safe,” Evelyn said. “Survival spells were some of the first I ever learned. We’ll pass the night warm, dry and completely uneaten, I promise. Sit.”

Nathalie bristled. “I’ve had enough of sorcerers bossing me around today, thank you.”

Evelyn raised an eyebrow. “Please?” she added sarcastically.

“Or what? You’ll flick your wrist and make me?”

“It’s tempting,” Evelyn replied, “but seeing as how I’m the human compass here, unnecessary. I’m stopping to rest until morning. You can either stop with me, or wander off on your own in some random direction into the woods in the middle of the night. Your choice.” Evelyn calmly lowered herself to the forest floor and leaned against a large tree trunk. Nathalie stared at her for a moment, then groaned.

“Ugh, fine,” she said, walking back over and sitting down next to Evelyn. The next ten minutes or so passed in a tense silence

“You should sleep,” Evelyn finally said.

“I slept all day, apparently,” Nathalie replied, bitter.

“Knockout spells aren't the same as sleep,” Evelyn said patiently. “You don't get any of the benefits. Besides, you're clearly exhausted.”

“I don't mean to sound pampered,” Nathalie said, “but this tree trunk isn't _quite_ as comfortable as the bed I'm used to, so if it's all the same to you it might take me a little longer than usual to drift off. Unless one of those survival spells you learned was some kind of pillow summoning charm, I don’t want to hear another word from you about how fast I should be falling asleep.”

Evelyn sighed. “Here,” she said, scooting closer to Nathalie before patting her leg. Nathalie stared at it blankly. “Closest thing to a pillow, I’m afraid, but still better than nothing.” After a few more seconds of hesitation, Nathalie sighed begrudgingly and lowered her head to Evelyn’s lap. “Better?”

“I guess,” Nathalie muttered. “Thanks. Are you going to be able to sleep like this?”

“Oh, I’ll keep watch,” Evelyn said. “I can go a whole week without sleeping without any negative effects if I have to,” she added. Evelyn was clearly immensely proud of this fact.

“Goodness,” Nathalie said dryly. “What I wouldn’t give to read your resume.” Evelyn laughed, and Nathalie took the opportunity to work up her nerve. “Can I ask you something?” she asked.

“Sure.”

“Was Gabriel… when you were pregnant with Adrien, what was he-”

“Oh God, he was _insufferable_ ,” Evelyn interrupted, annoyed. “He read everything, and he never stopped talking about any of it. Anything you could think of was a potential risk. Anything I wanted to do, or eat, you can bet Gabriel had some lecture all lined up about why it was a bad idea. He was worse than all my pregnancy symptoms combined. I had to resort to magic half the time just to get him to shut up.”

Nathalie snorted. “Wish I had that option,” she muttered. Evelyn chucked at this as Nathalie bit back a yawn. Evelyn’s lap made for a more comfortable pillow than Nathalie would have cared to admit. “Why did you marry him?” Nathalie asked. Her voice was growing soft already, heavier.

“Gabriel? Oh… vanity, I suppose,” Evelyn replied easily. “I saw a lot of myself in him. Ambition, ruthlessness, focus. But he didn't have any connection to the world of magic, so he wasn't threatening, wasn't competition.”

“You married young,” Nathalie murmured. “For a couple without marks.”

Nathalie felt Evelyn shrug. “I suppose. Plenty of people said so at the time, at any rate. But I knew I was too selfish to ever get a mark.” Evelyn paused. “Of course, I thought I knew the same of Gabriel, so who knows. But it worked for us, at first. We were both so married to our own work already. Gabriel didn't mind if I took off for a month chasing down some spell or artifact on the other side of the world, and I didn't mind if he fell asleep at his office desk for a week straight. And when we actually had time for each other… well. It was nice. For a long time. But then we had Adrien and everything changed.” Evelyn sighed. “Bringing a child into that was probably unforgivably selfish of us.”

“Maybe,” Nathalie agreed. “I'm still glad you did.”

“So am I.” Evelyn hesitated. “How are you doing?” she asked. “With your own pregnancy? Other than Gabriel being a prat, that is.”

Nathalie shrugged. “Fine,” she said.

“You don't sound convinced.”

“Oh… I thought I'd feel more connected to it, that's all. I know it's early, but I don't have that sense of, I don't know, life growing inside of me, or whatever you want to call it. Mostly I just feel like I've got the flu. I'm tired, I'm nauseous, I'm irritable.”

“Irritable? You don’t say.”

Nathalie yawned, ignoring the insult. “Maybe I'll feel more connected when we find out the sex,” she continued, “but it's too early now.”

“Not for me,” Evelyn said impulsively.

“What?”

“Not too early for magic, that is,” Evelyn clarified. “It's an easy spell, completely safe, a basic information scan. I haven't used it since Adrien, but I could… if you'd like, that is.”

Nathalie considered this for a moment. “Sure,” she finally said. “Why not.” To Nathalie's surprise, Evelyn immediately reached over her and put a hand to Nathalie’s stomach. A second later she was muttering something under her breath, and an odd but pleasant warmth radiated from Evelyn’s touch. Nathalie probably wouldn't have agreed to it, if she'd known the process would be so intimate. She quickly settled into the sensation, however. It was soothing. Nathalie had practically fallen asleep, and was almost disappointed, when Evelyn finally withdrew her hand.

“It's a girl,” Evelyn said softly.

“Oh,” Nathalie said, her voice a sigh. “Get anything else out of that, out of curiosity?”

Evelyn shrugged. “Not much,” she said. “Brown hair, blue eyes. Bit of a temper, probably.”

“Sounds… perfect,” Nathalie whispered. Within minutes, her breathing grew deep and steady.

 

* * *

 

Gabriel Agreste had been staring at the phone in his study for so long that when it finally began to ring, he thought he was hallucinating. It wasn't until Adrien and Nino, both asleep against one another on the nearby couch, woke up at the noise that Gabriel snapped out of his daze and pressed the speaker button.

“Hello?”

“Gabriel? Listen, I've got your wife-”

Instantly, Gabriel was wide awake. “Evelyn, I don't know what the hell you're playing at but if you've harmed so much as a single-”

“Good Lord, Gabriel, would you shut up and let me finish my goddamn sentence?” Evelyn interrupted. “Jesus, do you know what I've been through in the last twelve hours? I _rescued_ her. You're welcome.” She paused. “Alright, in retrospect, my initial choice of wording may not have been ideal, considering she was kidnapped yesterday and all that.”

“You…” Gabriel trailed off, trying to organize his thoughts. “Can I speak to her?”

“Of course, darling, but make it quick, we don't have our cell phones and the genius running this rest stop doesn't seem to appreciate us hogging the line. Besides, you need to drive down here and pick us up. We’re-hey, where are we exactly? Yes, you, don't pretend you haven't been eavesdropping on this entire phone call-we’re about twenty kilometers outside of Nocé, apparently.”

“Nocé? That’s a two hour drive, Evelyn, what the hell is-”

“Like I said, make it quick,” Evelyn interrupted. “Here.” There was the brief sound of rustling.

“Gabriel?”

“Nathalie! What… how are you? Are you safe, are you hurt?”

“I’m fine,” Nathalie said. “Tired, but what else is new? It… it’s really good to hear your voice,” she added softly. “I know it’s only been a day, but it feels so much longer.”

“I didn’t know if I’d hear yours ever again,” Gabriel said. “We didn’t… there was no ransom note, no-”

“I know.” Nathalie sighed. “It’s a long story, Gabriel, and I probably shouldn’t tell it over the phone anyway. Just get here as soon as you can?”

“Of course.”

“Thank you. Here, Evelyn’s got the address.” Gabriel grabbed a pen as Nathalie handed the phone back, and began copying down their location.

“Bring Adrien with you,” Evelyn added once she'd finished. “He needs to hear what's going on. In fact, he should drive, since I'm guessing you didn't get any sleep last night. Oh, and if your wife has any spare glasses would you bring a pair? Watching her squint at everything is making my eyes hurt.”

“I-”

“Good. See you in two hours.” Before Gabriel could respond, Evelyn had hung up. The dial tone rang out loudly for a few seconds. Gabriel snapped out of his shock and pressed the speaker button again, his hand visibly shaking as he did so.

“Adrien,” he said softly, “do you… do you know where Nathalie keeps her-”

“Yeah, I’ll get them,” Adrien said, grateful for the excuse to leave his father alone and allow him a few minutes to compose himself. “You wait here.” He and Nino quickly left the room, and Nino followed Adrien up to his parents’ bedroom.

“Jeez,” Nino said as Adrien rooted through Nathalie’s vanity drawer for her spare glasses’ case. “I mean, thank God Nat’s okay, but jeez, what the hell is going on?”

“Wish I knew,” Adrien muttered, pocketing the case. “Between my mom, my dad and me, there are way too many possible explanations.” Adrien pulled out his phone.  “I’m texting M-Ladybug. I’m sure she'll get here as soon as she can.”

Nino nodded. “Anything I can do?”

“You’ve done more than enough already,” Adrien said, not looking up from his phone.

“Oh come on, we both know that means ‘Yes, but I don’t want to ask’. Spit it out.”

Adrien sighed. “If you could stay here until we get back,” he said, “someone should probably be by the phone, just in case someone calls again.”

“Of course,” Nino said.

Adrien nodded, then sighed and leaned against the vanity. “I'm really sorry about all this,” he said.

Nino raised an eyebrow. “Dude, I know I did _not_ just hear you apologize for your stepmom getting kidnapped. Even for you, that's a new level of ‘everything is my responsibility, so everything is my fault’.”

“I know it's not my fault,” Adrien said defensively. “But… I also know this isn't exactly the way you were hoping this weekend would go.”

“Hey.” Nino put a hand on Adrien’s shoulder, then leaned forward and kissed his forehead. “I knew when I started dating a superhero that there'd be a lot more punches to roll with than usual,” he joked, and Adrien cracked half a smile despite himself. “I get it. We can tell everyone about us later, after everything's sorted out. You gotta take care of your family first. I can wait, I’m not going anywhere.”

“Thanks,” Adrien whispered, brushing a tear away impatiently before hugging his boyfriend tightly. “Thank you, I just… I really needed to hear that.”

 

* * *

 

“Here.” Evelyn walked up to the small outdoor table Nathalie was sitting at, and set two cups of coffee down in front of her. “Those are both for you. I finally convinced that jackass we’d pay him back when our ride shows up.”

Nathalie grinned. “Gabriel gets pretty worked up if I have more than one cup a day lately.”

“Fuck Gabriel,” Evelyn said cheerfully, sitting down. Nathalie picked up the first cup and took a long sip.

“Is it weird that I miss it?” she asked. “Gabriel’s nagging?”

“Yes,” Evelyn answered immediately.

“This time yesterday I could’ve strangled him, but now all I want is for him to be right here next to me, raising one of those damn eyebrows.” Nathalie looked at her watch and sighed. “Still another hour, probably.”

Evelyn nodded, then got back up. “There were sandwiches inside,” she said. “I’m gonna go press my luck and get a few. I haven’t eaten since lunch yesterday, and I’m guessing it’s been even longer for you.”

“I’m not hungry,” Nathalie said.

Evelyn rolled her eyes. “Sure,” she said. “You haven’t been hungry for eight weeks and you won’t be hungry for another four. Eat anyway.” Evelyn left without another word, and Nathalie went back to staring at the long road that led back to Paris. She didn't register Evelyn’s return until the woman was dropping an assortment of sandwiches and snacks in front of her. Nathalie realized she was ravenous. She immediately began to unwrap one of the sandwiches, mumbling her thanks as she did so.

Nathalie was just finishing her third one when Evelyn sighed in relief. “Finally,” she muttered. Nathalie gave her a confused look, and Evelyn nodded her head towards the road. Just as Nathalie turned back, a familiar car came speeding around the bend. Feeling weak all over again, Nathalie stood and waited.

Adrien parked right next to their table, and before he'd even shut the engine off Gabriel was out of it. He took three steps towards Nathalie, closing the distance between them, and froze. “You,” his voice was a tremble, and he reached up to touch his fingertips ever so lightly to Nathalie’s cheekbone, “you said you weren't hurt.”

Confused, Nathalie put a hand to her face and immediately winced. “Oh,” she said. “I didn't realize that had bruised. It must have been from when Ian hit me for trying to es-”

And then Gabriel’s arms were around her, clutching her as tightly as he dared, one hand on the back of her head, pressing it to his chest. He was shaking outright now. “I'm sorry,” he whispered, “I'm so sorry.”

“It wasn't your fault,” Nathalie whispered back. “It didn't have anything to do with you.” Nathalie felt her husband relax ever so slightly at this, but he maintained his hold of her.

“I should have… I can't stop thinking of how I could have prevented this, if I'd insisted on hiring you a driver, or-”

“You couldn't have done anything,” Nathalie interrupted gently. She tightened her own grip, arms wrapped around Gabriel’s back, and he kissed the top of her head, pressing his lips to her hair like he was trying to remember it.

Meanwhile, Adrien had gotten out of the car and come around the other side. He sighed in relief upon seeing Nathalie, then turned to Evelyn. “Hi, Mom.”

“Hello, darling,” she replied, putting her arms around her son and hugging him affectionately. “It's good to see you, despite the circumstances.”

“You, too. So… this was the business you were back in town for?”

“Evidently,” Evelyn said wearily. “If I’d known ahead of time what it actually entailed I would have warned you, of course.” Evelyn studied her son’s face for a moment. “Good Lord, you look almost as sleep-deprived as your father, it's a wonder you didn't crash on the way here. Give me the keys, I'll drive us back.”

Gabriel finally released his wife, and Nathalie hugged Adrien tightly for a moment before they all got in the car, Adrien up in front and Gabriel and Nathalie together in the back. Evelyn turned the ignition, began to back up, then immediately braked and parked the car again. “Whoops,” she said lightly, “where is my head at, I almost forgot to-hang on one second, darlings.” She quickly exited the car and ran back inside the rest stop. Less than a minute later she was back. “There we go, all taken care of,” Evelyn said as she resumed driving.

“What was that?” Adrien asked as they pulled onto the main road. “Were you paying the guy for the food or something?”

“Of course not,” Evelyn said, as though the idea were absurd. “I was erasing his memory.”

Adrien’s jaw dropped. “You _what_? Mom, you can't just-”

“Adrien,” Evelyn interrupted patiently, “in about three hours, Ian’s other clients are going to wake up, with no memory of myself or Nathalie or what they're doing there. But eventually, they're going to find the same way we did through those woods to that rest stop. And when they do, the absolute last thing any of us needs is for that nosy cashier to start running his mouth off about how they're the second group today to emerge from those woods, or about how he overheard the first group calling Gabriel Agreste of all people for a ride.”

“So that makes it okay to steal from the guy and cast spells on his mind?”

Evelyn sighed. “Gabriel, hand me a hundred Euro note, would you?” She reached towards the backseat as Gabriel pulled a money clip from his pocket and handed his ex-wife a bill. She crumpled the note up in her fist, muttered something under her breath, and blew on it. She opened her now-empty hand and placed it back on the steering wheel. “There,” she said. “He’ll find that stuck to the bottom of his shoe when he wakes up. That should be more than worth the food and inconvenience. Happy?”

“I guess,” Adrien muttered, though he still looked bothered.

“You two keep mentioning a man named-what on Earth are you wearing?” Gabriel asked, suddenly noticing his wife’s outfit for the first time.

“What?”

“That hideous top underneath the blouse you wore to work yesterday, what is that? I’m quite certain I’d never let you out of the house in a shade of orange that unflattering to your skin tone.”

“Nice to see you have your priorities straightened out again, dear,” Evelyn said, grinning at him for a second in the rear-view mirror.

“Oh, this,” Nathalie said, annoyed. “Ian made me put it on.”

Gabriel stiffened. “There’s that name again,” he said. “Who the hell is this man?”

“The sorcerer who kidnapped me from the employee parking lot.”

“You made it to the parking lot?” Gabriel asked, confused. “We reviewed the security footage extensively, there was no sign of you entering.”

Evelyn snorted. “Security footage,” she muttered derisively. “That’s a good one.”

Nathalie rolled her eyes. “You know, I’m really starting to appreciate the attitude the Inquisition had towards sorcery,” she said. “The entire practice should be completely banned at the very least.”

“Probably,” Evelyn agreed cheerfully.

“Where is this Ian now?” Gabriel asked, his voice dark.

“Back in that isolated cabin in the middle of nowhere,” Evelyn replied innocently.

“Most of him, anyway,” Nathalie muttered.

“Oh, you baby, he was all in there,” Evelyn said. “You only looked for half a second, you didn’t have nearly enough time to spot all his limbs.”

Adrien turned again to his mother. “You _killed_ him?”

“Oh, don’t start again, Adrien, I had to, he was going to kill your parents. I did try first asking him nicely not to, you know.”

“But you only knocked the other guys out, you could have-”

“No,” Evelyn said. “Ian’s other clients were easy for me to handle, but Ian… I doubt I could have taken him at all in a fair fight, honestly.” Evelyn’s voice had grown small; it was clearly difficult for her to admit this. “I had to go all out to survive as it was. If I hadn’t, you would have lost all three of your parents. And the technique he was selling would have gotten out into the world.”

“What technique?” Adrien asked. “And why would Father have been in any danger? He was back with me in Paris the whole time.”

Evelyn sighed. “It’s the technique Ian was selling,” she said. “The one he was going to demonstrate on Nathalie. Cutting a soul-link.”

For a minute, nobody in the car spoke, though Gabriel tightened his grip on Nathalie’s shoulders.

“How… that can’t be possible,” Adrien said quietly.

“Oh, sorcerers have known for millennia that it’s _possible_ ,” Evelyn replied. “Or at least, that it should be. There’s been a resurgence in effort to crack the code in the past four or five decades, but I’ve never heard of anybody coming close before last night.”

“Why?” Gabriel asked. “Why do such a thing?”

“Power,” Evelyn said. “A soul-link is an extremely strong, high-energy bond between two people’s energies, their life-forces. Tapping that by cutting it directly, it’s basically the magical equivalent of splitting the atom.”

Gabriel looked at Nathalie, shocked, and she sighed. “I don’t even like the damn things,” she said, leaning against her husband. “I happily survived thirty-six years without one, but now if I lose it…”

“Like I said,” Evelyn replied, “it’s a powerful bond linking your two life-forces. Cutting it now that it’s there would be like severing the roots of a tree. Your life-forces would slowly wither and starve, and you two along with them.”

Again, the car was silent for a while, and again it was Adrien who finally broke the silence. “But if you killed the guy who came up with it,” he said, “and you erased the memories of everyone else who was there, then maybe the technique dies with him. Maybe this will never actually happen to anyone.”

“Oh, it’s definitely happened already,” Evelyn said darkly. “Ian wouldn’t have been selling if he didn’t have full confidence in the technique. And he was far too certain of how long it would take for Nathalie and Gabriel to die. He’s probably done it a few times already at least. And the odds he developed this technique on his own, with no partner or assistance are very small.” Evelyn sighed and looked at her son. “I’m afraid this is far bigger than the four of us now,” she said. “We’re going to need a superhero or two to take care of it, because if this technique gets out, then every soulmark in the world stops being a happy miracle and becomes a target painted on an innocent person’s back.”


	5. Chapter 5

Nathalie was half-asleep by the time they made it back to Paris, but she shook herself awake as Evelyn pulled up to the front of the Agreste manor. “What do we do now?” Nathalie asked. “Talk to the Guardian? Try to track down Ian’s accomplice?”

“Those are both excellent suggestions,” Evelyn said matter-of-factly, as she put the car in park, “and you’re not doing either of them. You’re going right upstairs and staying in bed for the next twenty-four hours.”

Nathalie raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me? Why?”

“Because you were subjected to involuntary transports and knockout spells, both of which are miscarriage risks in the first trimester. You need to take it easy for a day, just to be safe.”

Nathalie glared. “You said you were sure I’d be fine,” she said accusingly.

“I am,” Evelyn said, “because I’m sure Gabriel’s going to make you do exactly what I say.” She looked at her ex-husband in the rear-view mirror. “Aren’t you, darling?”

“If you think Gabriel’s capable of making me do _anything_ , you’re-”

“Nathalie,” Gabriel interrupted, his voice uncharacteristically soft. “Please. You’ve been through so much already.”

Startled, Nathalie looked into her husband’s eyes, then sighed. “Fine,” she said begrudgingly. The four of them exited the car and made their way up the front steps. Nathalie leaned on her husband as they went, surprised at how exhaustion still seemed to permeate every inch of her body.

“Nathalie!” Nino was rushing towards her through the foyer the second they entered the mansion. “Thank God you’re alright, I was so-”

“Nathalie needs to rest now,” Gabriel interrupted sharply.

Nino pulled back, stopping himself before he threw his arms around Nathalie. “Right, sorry,” he said sheepishly.

Nathalie rolled her eyes. “Oh, for heaven’s sake, Gabriel, a hug isn’t going to kill me.” She reached for the boy and hugged him before Gabriel could object further. “It’s nice to see you,” she said quietly. Nino nodded and hugged her tightly before releasing her, and Nathalie and Gabriel continued on.

“Just because I'm stuck up here for the day,” Nathalie said brusquely as they entered their bedroom, “doesn't mean I don't expect up-to-date progress reports.” She grabbed her laptop and sat down on the bed. “In the meantime, I'll be doing damage assessment on all the work I missed yesterday. I assume you told my boss I went missing? That's going to be awkward, but I think I can handle it.” Nathalie squinted at her screen. “That's not too many emails, thank God. I suppose if one is going to be kidnapped during the work week, a Friday afternoon is the optimal-”

“Can I get you anything?” Gabriel interrupted, when it was clear his wife would not be giving him an opening to ask. “Water, food?”

“Water’s fine,” Nathalie replied, not looking up. Gabriel nodded and left for the kitchen.

By the time he returned with a glass of ice-water, Nathalie was sound asleep. Gabriel studied her for a moment, then placed the water on her bedside table. He gently pried the laptop from Nathalie’s grasp, closed it, and put it off to the side. He brushed a few stray hairs from her face, lingering over the bright red streak in her hair, before forcing himself to leave her be, crossed the room to an armchair, and sat down.

Gabriel was still sitting there, watching over Nathalie, when Evelyn appeared at his doorway about fifteen minutes later. “Gabriel? That superhero’s here, the other one. We should go downstairs and discuss what to do next.” Gabriel nodded but made no move to get up, and Evelyn crossed to him. “The baby’s going to be fine,” she said gently.

“I don’t care about the baby,” Gabriel said, and immediately winced. “I didn’t mean that,” he added quickly. “Of course I do, I just… it was the furthest thing from my mind, when I realized Nathalie was missing. For the first time in two months. It would be terrible, if Nathalie lost the baby, but I could survive it. I couldn’t survive losing her.”

Evelyn nodded. “I understand,” she said softly.

Gabriel finally tore his gaze away from Nathalie’s sleeping form to look up at Evelyn. “I can't thank you enough for-”

“Don't,” Evelyn interrupted.

“Why not? You did an incredible thing for my family.”

“Our family,” Evelyn said quietly.

Gabriel was silent for a moment. “I thought you hated Nathalie.”

Evelyn shrugged. “She certainly got under my skin when I first returned to Paris, I'll give her that. It's to her credit; so few people actually do. I thought she didn't understand my power, didn't take me seriously as a threat, the way she behaved towards me. But then last night, I saw her again and,” Evelyn laughed softly. “You should have seen her, Gabriel, she was… it was the same look she gave me back then, and I realized it wasn't that she didn't understand, because she clearly did. She knew what Ian could do to her, what he _would_ do to her, anyone could see that. But she still looked at Ian like his power was nothing to her, like… I don't know if I can explain it exactly, like she was annoyed at him for wasting her time. It was…”

“Intoxicating?” Evelyn looked at Gabriel, surprised. “I spent the first three months of our relationship courting her exclusively as a supervillain. I am intimately familiar with the look you are describing.”

Evelyn’s eyes lit up. “You did not.”

“I did.”

Evelyn burst into laughter so hard she had to lean on the back of the armchair for support. “God, you're such a disaster,” she finally managed to say. “How do you keep marrying up?”

“I try not to look gift horses in the mouth.” Gabriel took one last look at his wife, then sighed and followed Evelyn out of the room.

 

* * *

 

“Die, die, die, why won't you just _die_?”

Nathalie opened her eyes and looked over to her left. Nino Lahiffe was sitting in an armchair across the bedroom and was currently shouting at a handheld video game. “That's not as comforting a thing to wake up to as you might think,” she said dryly.

“Nathalie!” Nino snapped the game shut and hurried to her side. “How are you feeling? Need anything?”

Nathalie shook her head. “What are you doing here?”

“Oh, um, well, Adrien’s mom wanted to check out the apartment of the guy that, you know, kidnapped you, and Mr. Agreste wanted to go talk to some guy called the Guardian, and Adrien and LB didn’t really trust either of them to go off and do those things on their own so they left too, and Adrien asked if I could stay here.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Nathalie said immediately. “I’m perfectly fine, I don’t need-”

“Oh, it’s nothing,” Nino said dismissively. “It’s not like I need an excuse to sit around all Saturday playing video games anyway.”

Nathalie smiled gently. “You’re a much more giving person than you like to let on, Nino Lahiffe,” she said, and Nino blushed.

“It’s nothing,” he repeated sheepishly. “Just don’t scare me like that ever again and we’ll call it even, okay?”

Nathalie nodded. “Deal.”

“So, um…” Nino checked the time on his phone, “now that you're awake you probably want to eat something, right? If you're in the mood for it, my parents added some new tagines to the menu, and my cousin Sayid’s on delivery duty today. He's been dying to deliver something to the mansion ever since he found out I'm friends with Adrien.”

Nathalie nodded. “That sounds nice.”

Nino started punching something into his phone, then stopped and looked up. “Should I order extra?” he asked. “Since you're, um, eating for two? Sorry,” he added quickly, as a faint blush appeared on Nathalie’s cheeks, “I didn't-I mean I'm not _sorry_ , I'm super psyched about it-Congratulations!-but I'm sorry I found out, I know you weren't telling anyone for a while. It's just, I was calling all these hospitals yesterday, just in case you were hurt, right, and Adrien and his dad thought I should know so if I did find you I could tell the hospital right away.”

Nathalie nodded slowly. “I see. It's fine. No, you don't need to order extra.”

“I really am psyched though,” Nino said, grinning. “I love kids, they're great, you're gonna-”

“It was stupid,” Nathalie whispered, before she could stop herself.

“Huh?”

“Stupid to think we could do this safely, stupid to think this was all behind us,” Nathalie continued. “She's not even going to be born for another seven months and she's already getting dragged into these life-or-death situations. What were we thinking?”

“Oh jeez, Nat, it's not your fault. Don't think about it like that.”

“How should I think about it?”

“Well…” Nino thought for a moment. “That kid’s gonna be safer than any kid in Paris, you know? Just think about everyone who's gonna be protecting it. Two superheroes, one supervillain-sorry, ex-supervillain-uh, whatever Adrien’s mom is, _you_ , and I know I don't bring a lot to the table compared to all that but I'm an expert babysitter. CPR trained and everything.”

Nathalie blinked. “That… actually makes me feel much better, thank you.” She paused. “You know about Gabriel?”

“Oh, yeah, sorry, that came up yesterday too.”

“Out of curiosity,” Nathalie asked, “are there any secrets you don't know at this point?”

“Well, I still don't know who LB is,” Nino replied conversationally, “but Adrien keeps slipping and talking about her like she's somebody I know, so I figure that one’s only a matter of time, too. Anyway, back to the important questions.” Nino picked his phone back up. “Chicken or lamb?”

 

* * *

 

“Good Lord, the ego on that man,” Evelyn muttered to herself after examining the apartment door for a moment.

“Huh?” Adrien asked. His mother gestured vaguely.

“He did all his security spells himself,” she said. “Even I don’t do that. Spells tie to their sorcerers, so if something happens to the sorcerer then every active spell they’ve ever cast is compromised. It’s common sense to get one or two security spells from other sorcerers, just in case. But I suppose Ian couldn’t imagine anything ever taking him down.” Evelyn rolled her eyes. “There are basically no defenses left on the place. We can just walk right in.”

Adrien went to open the door. “It’s locked,” he said. His mother scoffed, then waved her hand over the doorknob before turning it and letting herself in. Sighing, her son followed.

“Where did I leave my… ah.” Evelyn crossed the room to a small table and picked up her purse, then started to look around, walking slowly around the apartment.

“You came here yesterday?”

“Very briefly. It was the teleportation site. One side of it, anyway. I didn't exactly have an opportunity to look around.” She picked up a few stray pieces of mail off a kitchen countertop, looked through them for a moment, then dropped them back down.

“This place is pretty modest,” Adrien said. “I mean, I know my perspective is probably warped anyway, but I would have expected the most powerful man in Europe to have a more impressive apartment.”

Evelyn shrugged. “When you can get anything in the world you want at the drop of a hat,” she said, “the idea of accumulating a lot of stuff loses its appeal. Minimalism can be its own kind of luxury.” She crossed to the bedroom, took a few steps inside, and stopped. Bending over, she picked up Nathalie's glasses from the floor and handed them to Adrien. “He must have kept her in here,” she said softly, “before moving her.”

Adrien paled. “Are all sorcerers like that?” he asked. “Treating other people like… like things to be used, to take advantage of?”

Evelyn sighed. “There aren't many sorcerers that come close to Ian’s level,” she said. “The others aren't very different from anybody else, really. But among the elite… there are probably more sorcerers like Ian than not, I'm afraid.” She scanned the room, and her eyes locked into the dresser. “Jackpot.” She walked over and picked up a cell phone. “Now _this_ is going to be useful,” Evely said smugly. She studied the device for a minute, then frowned.

“What?”

“He was more careful with this,” Evelyn said. “He got someone else to ward it.”

“Can you get past it?”

“Eventually,” Evelyn said, “but we might not have the time for it. It might be faster to just use mundane methods to hack into it. Not that I know the first thing about breaking into phones, I'm afraid. Do you?”

“No,” Adrien said slowly, “but I think I know someone who does.”

 

* * *

 

Master Fu opened his door and looked up in surprise. “Gabriel. Ladybug. I didn't expect to see you two together.”

Ladybug rolled her eyes. “He insisted on coming here himself,” she said, “even though he doesn't have any right to talk to you directly as far as I'm concerned.”

“Your concern is appreciated,” Fu replied easily. “Please, both of you, come in.” Fu led them to his kitchen table and all three of them took a seat. “Tell me, how is Nathalie?”

“She’ll be fine,” Gabriel replied, and Fu sighed in relief, “but I'm afraid there's a new problem.” Gabriel took a deep breath and started from the beginning, going through everything he knew about what happened, everything Nathalie and Evelyn had told him during the two hour drive back. Fu was silent for a long time after Gabriel finished speaking.

“My,” he finally whispered. “What a terrifying prospect. What a terrible fate you two narrowly avoided.”

“A fate that Evelyn is quite sure not everyone has managed to avoid, I'm afraid,” Gabriel replied.

Fu nodded, then looked at Ladybug. “Your powers will be vital, I’m certain, in removing this threat.”

“I know,” Ladybug replied. “I'll be ready. We can't let soulmarks be destroyed.”

“Your selflessness is laudable,” Fu said, “but I'm afraid the stakes are more personal than you realize. You see, a Miraculous holder is far more likely to eventually get a soulmark than the average person.”

Ladybug’s eyes widened. “I'm going to get a mark?” she whispered.

“I cannot say, but it is more likely than not.”

Ladybug glanced at Gabriel. “Is that why _he_ has one?”

“Perhaps.” Fu sighed. “In any case, it is irrelevant whether you or Chat specifically ever get them. If this magic becomes widespread, it will undermine all Miraculous holders to come. I cannot allow that. I must use every tool at my disposal to prevent this catastrophe.” Fu rose from the table and left the room without another word. Ladybug and Gabriel sat next to each other in awkward silence for a few minutes, until Fu returned. He sat down again, then placed a small black box on the table and slid it towards Gabriel. Gabriel’s eyes widened in recognition, but it was Ladybug who spoke.

“Is that… you can't be serious!”

“Quite serious,” the Guardian replied calmly.

“Are you crazy? Don't you remember what it was like when he-”

“The Butterfly Miraculous,” Fu interrupted gently, “is one of the most vital tools we have for watching over Paris. It may be the difference between finding this new enemy in time to prevent disaster or not.”

“So give it to someone else, anyone else!” Ladybug shouted impatiently.”Someone who can actually be trusted to-”

“Gabriel.” Fu turned to the man, who was still staring wordlessly at the box. “When you first acquired this, how long was it before you were able to sense emotions outside of transformation?”

Gabriel tore his gaze away from the box. “A few months, I believe.”

Fu nodded. “Yes, that's normal.” He turned to Ladybug. “We do not have a few months, I'm afraid, for a new Miraculous holder to develop the ability to monitor the emotional state of Paris nonstop. Gabriel has already developed this ability, and it will return to him the second he takes up the Miraculous again.” Fu looked at Gabriel again. “You used that to attack innocent people once. Will you use it now to defend them?” Gabriel nodded slowly and picked up the box. “Good. I expect you to get in touch if you sense anything untoward. In the meantime, I will conduct my own research into the matter.” Fu got up again, and his two guests rose and followed him back to the front door. Gabriel exited without another word, but Ladybug held back and turned to Fu.

“Sir?”

“Yes?”

“You said…” she hesitated, bracing herself, “you said Miraculous users were more likely to have marks, so I was wondering if, um, if you-not to be personal, but-”

“Her name was Jun,” Fu interrupted. “We were very happy for many years.”

“Oh,” Ladybug said. “What, um, what happened to her?”

“Oh, she died about nine decades ago,” Fu replied easily. “Peacefully, at home, surrounded by our children and grandchildren.”

“I'm sorry,” Ladybug said immediately.

Fu smiled gently. “I'm not.” Ladybug nodded, then left.

Gabriel was waiting patiently for her on the sidewalk, and Ladybug just barely managed to keep from glaring. “You don't need me to escort you home,” she snapped. “If something comes up, Adrien knows how to reach me.” She turned away and began to leave.

“Miss Ladybug.” Ladybug stopped and turned to look back at Gabriel. “I am not a fool, and I am in no way at a loss to understand your skepticism. But you must understand, all I care about now is protecting my family. That includes your partner. I would no longer use this for any other-”

“You don't deserve it,” Ladybug interrupted, her voice flat. “These things are a sacred responsibility and you don't deserve one, you haven't earned the right to wield one, and you can't be trusted to make the right decisions with one. Especially _that_ one. I hope I'm wrong, for Adrien’s sake, but I think we both know I'm not. Don't you?” Before Gabriel could respond, Ladybug had thrown her yo-yo out and was gone.

 

* * *

 

“Okay, you gotta time this part right when he-”

“Jump! Double jump!”

“Nice, you unlocked the bonus round!”

Gabriel entered his bedroom to find his wife sitting on their bed between Adrien and Nino, scowling at some kind of video game while the two teenagers enthusiastically coached her through it. He shut the door behind him, and all three looked up simultaneously.

“Father! You're back!”

Gabriel nodded. “Is your mother still here?”

“Yeah, she's waiting downstairs. We might have a lead on Ian's partner. What did the Guardian say?”

Gabriel hesitated. “I'd prefer to discuss it with Nathalie first. Privately. I'll join you downstairs afterward.”

“Oh, um, yeah, of course.” Adrien got off the bed, and Nino followed.

“Here,” Nathalie said, holding the game out to Nino.

“You can borrow it, I can get it back after you beat that level,” Nino replied, before quickly exiting the room with Adrien. Gabriel watched the two boys leave, then stared at the shut door silently for a while.

“Gabriel?” Nathalie finally said. “Is something wrong?”

Gabriel shook his head, then sat down on the bed next to his wife. “I thought… I just thought, after we were both blindsided by Adrien being Chat Noir, that we'd do a better job of paying attention to him from then on. That we'd learned something, maybe, that we'd be more in tune with his life.”

“We are,” Nathalie said, taking her husband's hand.

“He and that Lahiffe boy, I had no idea that they were,” Gabriel hesitated, struggling with the word, “intimate.”

Nathalie's eyes widened, and she looked back towards the door. “Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

Nathalie considered this for a moment. “Well, I couldn't have picked anyone better,” she finally said. “How long have they been together?”

“I have no idea. I just found out now.”

“Really?” Nathalie raised an eyebrow skeptically. “I was here the whole time, you know, I think I would have noticed if either of them had said anything to suggest-”

“I sensed it. Empathically.”

Nathalie froze. “What?”

Gabriel sighed. “The Guardian felt it would be best if I took the Butterfly Miraculous back,” he said numbly. “In order to monitor the emotional state of Paris. And to fight these new enemies, if necessary.”

Nathalie pulled her hand away. “You know how I feel about those things.”

“I do.”

“You know how I feel about _you_ having one of those things.”

“I do, Nathalie. You're not the only one to feel that way, and you're not wrong.”

“But?”

“But… Nathalie, I felt so helpless yesterday, so powerless.”

“Gee,” Nathalie said sarcastically, “I can't imagine what that must have been like for you, feeling powerless yesterday. You'll have to let me know if there's anything I can do to help you through this difficult time.”

“I'm not trying to make this about me,” Gabriel said defensively. “Yesterday might not have been nearly as terrible for you if I'd had the Miraculous when you were abducted. I might have been able to feel it, the moment you were taken. I might have been able to find you right away. I do not intend to let something like that happen again. Until this danger is passed, I will do anything I possibly can to keep you safe, to keep this family safe.”

“You told yourself you were doing what was best for your family the last time you wielded that thing,” Nathalie said accusingly.

Gabriel sighed. “I did,” he agreed. “If you think I'm beginning to abuse it again, I swear I'll hand it over like I did two years ago.”

Nathalie pursed her lips. “I don't want to have to bear the entire weight of your moral conscience, Gabriel,” she said. “That's not fair, and you know it. Without Miraculouses, we have something that _works_. I don't want to risk that, especially now.”

Gabriel was silent for a moment. “I wish I knew what to say to dispel your anger, your fear. Heaven knows I can't fault you for it, but-”

“Oh, can't you just let me feel how I feel?” Nathalie snapped. “Maybe you can sense my emotions now but they're still _mine_ , not yours to fix or control. I'll get over it eventually. I know it wasn't your idea. Just let it be, would you?”

Gabriel nodded. “I'll… I'll go downstairs, inform the others. Find out what Evelyn discovered.”

“That's a good idea,” Nathalie said stiffly.

Gabriel started to get off the bed, then turned back to his wife and kissed her forehead impulsively. “This will work,” he whispered. “I won't do anything to jeopardize what we have.”


	6. Chapter 6

Hawkmoth opened his eyes and looked across the room at his wife, who was still in bed and watching him intently.

“Well?” she asked, her voice tight. “Anything out of the ordinary?”

Hawkmoth hesitated. “It’s… difficult to say,” he replied. “It's only my third day; I’m still getting a feel for ordinary. And I’m not used to using these powers like this.”

“Correctly, you mean?” Nathalie let out a frustrated sigh. “I’m sorry, that was unfair.”

“No, you’re right,” Hawkmoth said. “I have never before used these powers the way they were meant to be used. I have monitored Paris, but only to search for exploitable weaknesses. Monitoring for danger is different. Broader. Still, I don’t believe I sensed anything imminent.”

Nathalie nodded. She'd been on edge ever since Gabriel had reclaimed the Miraculous, and it didn't help that he'd been spending as much time transformed as possible ever since, in order to get accustomed to monitoring Paris. Now, though, some of the tension in Nathalie’s shoulders finally began to ease. Hawkmoth walked back to the bed. He sat down behind her, then placed a gloved hand on each shoulder. Slowly, he began to massage the remaining knots out. “You don’t need to… oh… never mind, yes, keep doing that,” Nathalie murmured. “Right there. Forever.” She closed her eyes, and for a few minutes the only sound in the room was her satisfied moans. “You’re better at this than I remember.”

Hawkmoth leaned next to Nathalie’s ear, not stopping. “Was it so easy to forget the advantages of an empathic partner?” he asked softly.

“I blocked them out, I suppose,” Nathalie whispered. “It was too difficult to separate them from all the disadvantages that came with it.”

“Fair.” Hawkmoth continued to massage Nathalie’s shoulders and upper back, easily zeroing in on the spots and techniques that produced in her the most satisfaction, the most pleasure. “I’d forgotten, too,” he admitted. “I’d banished the memory of how utterly breathtaking it is to feel everything you feel.” He kissed her neck softly. “Even your frustration, your annoyance. Although those do finally seem to be abating. It seems you’re coming around.”

“Mmhmm,” Nathalie said. There was, after all, no point in lying.

“It’s getting easier for you, to look at me like this.”

“In my defense, the costume change helped.”

Hawkmoth let out a low chuckle. “I don’t control the costume,” he said. “That’s all Nooroo. I suppose he feels I’ve earned the upgrade from the villain’s cowl to the standard mask. Or at least the benefit of the doubt.” He paused. “I haven’t, though. Not yet. But I will,” he promised.

Nathalie nodded. “I know,” she murmured. Her eyes stayed closed, she continued to bask in the caresses and the kisses that were growing more and more insistent, but there was still a kernel of hesitation at her core. She would not be returning any of these affections while her husband was transformed-not today, at any rate. Sighing, Gabriel dropped the transformation, returning to the shirt and boxer shorts he'd woken up in, and a moment later Nathalie twisted around to face him, touch him, kiss him. She brought a hand up to his face and caressed his cheek for a moment before sliding her hand around to the back of his neck and pulling him in for a more insistent kiss, keeping him on her as she fell back into the pillows.

“Nathalie,” Gabriel whispered, as his wife bit his lip and grabbed his shirt.

“Hmm?”

“I should get dressed.”

“That seems counter-productive.”

“Any other morning,” Gabriel replied, kissing the shock of red in her hair, “but the appointment’s in less than an hour.”

Surprised, Nathalie looked at her wristwatch. “Hell,” she muttered. She looked back at Gabriel. “Promise we’ll pick this up right after.”

Gabriel kissed her forehead. “Promise.”

 

* * *

 

Alya looked at her two friends silently for a moment. “Okay, let me get this straight,” she finally said. “Your stepmom was kidnapped by an evil wizard trying to weaponize soulmarks.”

“Sorcerer,” Adrien corrected. “And… yeah, actually, that's a really good summary.”

“And you want _me_ to break into his phone.”

Adrien scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. “Well, um, I completely understand if you don't want to get involved, but I thought-”

“If she doesn't want to get involved?” Nino interrupted skeptically. “This is _Alya_.”

“Yeah,” Alya agreed, waving her hand impatiently “obviously I want to get involved. I'm just surprised you can't get your magic mom to handle it or whatever.”

“She said there's anti-magic defenses on it. But hacking isn't magic-”

“ _My_ hacking is.”

“-so we thought you could probably do it faster than she could.”

Alya beamed at the praise and picked the phone up. “Yeah, I'm game,” she said. “Out of curiosity, though, on a scale of one to ten how worried do I need to be about this very dangerous sorcerer finding out I'm snooping through his things?”

“Zero,” Adrien said. “My mom… took care of him.”

“She took care of him?” Alya repeated skeptically. “What is this, a mafia movie? What does that even mean?”

“It means what it sounds like,” Adrien said, clearly uncomfortable.

Alya's eyes widened. “Oh,” she said. She looked back down at the phone. “What are you hoping to get from this, exactly?”

“Mom thinks he had a partner.”

“Do I need to be worried about _that_ guy?”

Adrien shrugged. “We don't even know if he exists. Look, you're right, this is probably way too dangerous, I'll figure something else out.” He reached for the phone, but Alya snatched it away and quickly dropped it in her purse.

“No way am I not helping after everything you just told me,” she said, annoyed. “I don't care about danger. ‘All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good people do nothing’, remember? Where would we be if Ladybug or Chat Noir only helped when it was _safe_?”

“Ladybug and Chat Noir are superheroes!” Adrien cried, exasperated. “They're a lot harder to kill than you are!”

“Oh, whatever.” Alya frowned. “Still, it's probably a good idea to bring them in on this. I mean, this is _big_ , Adrien, you get that, right?”

Adrien rolled his eyes. “Yes, Alya, I get that.”

“So you agree that I should call Ladybug and ask her to help?”

Adrien stared blankly for a moment, an expression Nino was quickly coming to recognize as the one his boyfriend wore when he was trying and failing to think of how to gracefully get out of secret identity shenanigans. “Sure,” he finally said. “That's probably a good idea. Um, you don't have to keep bugging her with updates you get from me though, you can just send her to me and I'll fill her in with everything directly.”

Alya raised an eyebrow suggestively. “Careful, Adrien, your boyfriend’s right here, you don't want to make him jealous.”

“ _What_? No, no, no, I didn't mean it like-”

“Oh, relax, Nino gets it, he had that little fling with Chat Noir earlier this year,” Alya said, grinning as Adrien turned bright red. “If you ask me, you should get a one-time pass for your own superhero crush. I mean, fair’s fair, right?” She looked at Nino expectantly.

Nino rolled his eyes. “Sure, why not,” he said. “But I think Adrien's a little preoccupied right now with the mysterious sorcerer that's maybe trying to kill his parents.”

“Right.” Alya frowned again. “How big of a problem are sorcerers, anyway? I mean, I knew they existed, obviously, but I had no idea they were like, kidnapping citizens for weird magic rituals and basically getting away with it scot-free. And not everyone's as lucky as you are to have their own sorcerer who can ‘take care of’ the dangerous ones for them. Shouldn't people know about this?”

Adrien shrugged. “Maybe? I don't know, we can worry about it after we solve this soulmark thing.”

“Shouldn't people know about that, too?”

“ _No_ ,” Adrien said emphatically. “Regular people can't do anything to protect against it, it'll just make them panic. And if other sorcerers find out that it's possible, they might figure out how to make it work. We can't let this get out, Alya.”

Alya's frown deepened. “I'm a _journalist_ , Adrien, the idea of keeping secrets from people ‘for their own good’ doesn't exactly sit well with me.”

“Keeping secrets to protect people is the entire basis of how all the superheroes you love operate,” Adrien said defensively.

“Those are _their_ secrets to keep, Adrien! This isn't like a civilian identity, this affects everyone.” Alya stood. “I won't say a word about it to anyone else before we figure this out, and I won't publish anything without telling you first, but I'm not going to promise to keep this a secret forever, Adrien. Not before I have a better understanding of how much secrecy actually protects regular people, and how much it protects the sorcerers who exploit them. Fair?”

Adrien nodded. “Yeah, that's fair.”

“I'll let you know when I manage to break into the phone.”

“Thanks.”

 

* * *

 

“Everything looks great,” Dr. Martinez said, and Gabriel relaxed his grip of Nathalie’s hand ever so slightly.

“You're sure?” Nathalie asked, not taking her eyes off the ultrasound screen.

“Mmhmm,” the doctor assured her. She pointed. “There's the heartbeat, right there. I know it's not much to look at this early, but trust me, that's exactly what we want to see.” She shifted the wand around. “Lining looks good. There's no sign of anything out of the ordinary. No cramping, bleeding?” Nathalie shook her head. “Well, call if that changes. Otherwise, I think it's safe to say you're out of the woods.” The irony of this phrasing did not escape Nathalie, but she ignored it.

“If something like this should happen again-” Gabriel started to ask.

“-come back right away,” the doctor finished. She looked at Gabriel. “Do you expect something like this to happen again? Because we really very strongly advise against any kind of magic exposure for the entire gestation.”

Gabriel hesitated. “No,” he lied, “we don't expect anything like this to happen again. It was an unfortunate fluke.”

Dr. Martinez nodded slowly, clearly skeptical. “Well, it's not really my area of expertise. If this is going to be a repeated occurrence, perhaps I should refer you to an obstetrician who has more experience with magic exposure in pregnancies.”

“No,” Nathalie said immediately, still not looking away from the screen.

“Nathalie-”

“I'm not switching to another obstetrician.”

“Why not? The doctor said herself that-”

“Because we interviewed over two dozen,” Nathalie said, “and Dr. Martinez is the only one who didn't immediately start gushing about how easy soulmarked pregnancies were.”

The doctor snorted as she shut the machine off and handed Nathalie a paper towel. “Is that how I got the job?” she asked. “Yes, most of my colleagues tend to get excited about patients like you, and the numbers are there, but,” she shrugged, “there's no such thing as a sure thing in this field. I wish there were, but it's better to just be ready for anything.”

“I couldn't agree more,” Nathalie said, finally tearing her eyes away from the now blank screen in order to wipe away the ultrasound gel from her bared abdomen.

Dr. Martinez gave Nathalie’s shoulder a gentle pat. “Like I said, call if anything comes up. Otherwise, I'll see you in a few weeks for your next regular appointment.” She left the room, and Nathalie let out a heavy sigh of relief as she pulled her shirt back down and sat up.

“I don't think I realized how much anxiety I was carrying over this,” Nathalie said softly.

“I did,” Gabriel replied.

Nathalie raised an eyebrow. “Show-off,” she muttered, but Gabriel could feel the amusement she was hiding just as easily as he'd felt her anxiety. He leaned against the exam table and Nathalie took his hand and squeezed it. “I don't want to have to come back here again,” she whispered. “I wish I could believe the worst is over.”

“For you it is,” Gabriel promised. “The rest of us will take care of whatever comes along. There's no reason for you to get dragged into it. You can stay safely out of whatever comes next.”

Nathalie scoffed. “Staying safely out of things has never exactly been my forte.”

 

* * *

 

Gabriel knocked on his son’s bedroom door. There was a certain unfortunate irony, that Gabriel had only recently gotten into the habit of respecting his son’s privacy right before reacquiring powers that made the gesture completely moot.

“Father?” Adrien opened the door and stepped aside, allowing Gabriel to enter. As he did, he noticed Nino sitting on the couch in front of some muted anime.

“Adrien. I…” Gabriel hesitated. “I’m not sure if this is appropriate, but I was attempting to acclimate to the Butterfly Miraculous again, and I sensed… distress. Fear.”

Adrien's eyes widened. “Ian's partner? Is he-”

“No,” Gabriel interrupted. “It's nothing to do with that. Nothing to do with sorcery or soulmarks, nothing that poses any kind of a threat to us whatsoever. It is simply a domestic dispute. About ten blocks north. There are children present. The situation is not currently violent, but it could quickly become so. I know this is not why the Guardian bestowed this Miraculous, but I thought-”

“You thought a visit from Chat Noir might set the guy straight,” Adrien finished.

“Something along those lines, yes.”

“Yeah, of course.” Adrien turned to Nino. “I'll be back soon.” He transformed, and a second later had disappeared out his bedroom window.

In the wake of his absence, Gabriel and Nino stared at one another for a few moments of silence. “You disapprove,” Gabriel finally said.

“No,” Nino said slowly, “I just… are you going to send Adrien to deal with every domestic dispute in all of Paris from now on?”

“I don't know. I hadn't really considered-”

“Because he’ll take care of every single one you send him after, you know,” Nino continued. “Happily. Even if it completely drains him, which it will. It's a lot to put on one guy, even a superhero. So maybe consider that, too.”

Gabriel nodded. “That is a good point. I will try to find an appropriate balance.”

“Thanks.” Nino started to turn back around, then hesitated. “You, um, you can sense stuff that specific?”

“While transformed, yes,” Gabriel replied. “This surprises you?”

Nino shrugged. “Look, I wasn't gonna bring it up or anything, but back when you were, you know, akumatizing someone new every other day, I guess I always figured you didn't actually have that much say in what kind of people you found. Because if your powers were good enough to pick out the _really_ bad guys, guys that would hit their wife or rob a bank or whatever, then why were you always picking people like…”

“Like you?” Gabriel asked.

Nino shrugged. “Well, yeah.”

“I would have,” Gabriel replied, “if it had been my aim to damage Paris as much as possible. It was not. The terrorism was incidental. I realize this is not exactly a comfort-Adrien certainly took little comfort in it, when we finally discussed it-but I never wanted to create any more chaos than necessary in order to draw out the major Miraculouses. A violent man, a sadistic criminal, akumas made from people like that would have been an ugly thing. An akuma made from someone like you, on the other hand, a decent person caught in a temporary moment of weakness, could be trusted not to take things too far.”

Nino raised an eye skeptically. “So, what, it was a compliment?”

Gabriel sighed. “Again, I understand how little a comfort it actually is. My actions three years ago were inexcusable. I do see that now. I regret that you were caught up in them.”

Nino’s expression didn’t change. “Apologies aren’t really your thing, are they?”

“They are not.”

Nino nodded slowly. “Well… thanks for trying, anyway.”

Gabriel nodded. “I appreciate you taking all this in stride,” he said. “It cannot have been an easy thing to find out, especially in the middle of my wife’s disappearance.”

“Oh, yeah, well,” Nino shrugged, “after finding out Adrien’s Chat, I kind of just braced myself for everything in his life to be insane. Besides, Nat married you, so you can’t be all bad, I guess.”

“Still. I think most young men would be far more distressed, to find out their boyfriend’s father was a former supervillain. You must care about my son a great deal, to let it go so easily.”

Nino blinked, stunned, and his cheeks went pink. “I, uh-well, yeah, of course I do, but, um, when-how did you, uh-”

“Over the next few days, I expect to fully adjust to becoming an empath again,” Gabriel interrupted, “and I will be able to direct my abilities enough that there are no more violations of privacy or awkward revelations. In the meantime, however, I’m afraid I cannot help but pick up on these things.”

Nino nodded. “Uh huh. Right. Well, I mean, we _were_ going to tell you anyway, it’s just Nat disappeared and everything was crazy and it didn’t, you know, seem like a great time to bring it up. I mean, it never seemed like a _great_ time, but Adrien had finally psyched himself up for it, he really had, and then-”

“It is not a mystery to me,” Gabriel said softly, “that Adrien still finds it difficult to share personal things with me. It is not a mystery to me why that is, either, or whose fault it is. I didn’t mean to accuse. I simply wished to express my gratitude, that is all.” Before Nino could reply, Gabriel left the room.


	7. Chapter 7

“Alain Carre,” Alya said proudly, dropping a huge stack of papers on the Agreste dining room table. “That's the guy you're looking for.” She held up a photo of an older man, a perfectly ordinary looking man that none of them would have glanced twice at in public. “Sixty-three, lived in Paris his whole life, no criminal record whatsoever but from everything you’ve told me about sorcerers I guess that doesn’t mean much. Here's everything I could get on him.”

Adrien stared at the giant pile. “Wow,” he said, “that's… you broke into Ian’s phone and found all that in one day?”

“You're sure it's him?” Gabriel asked skeptically.

“Oh, yeah,” Alya said confidently. “He and Ian exchanged a ton of emails about all of it, I printed them out.” She picked up a thick folder and handed it over. Gabriel flipped it open, and Nathalie looked over his shoulder.

“That's my name in there,” Nathalie said, reaching for the page.

Alya nodded. “Yeah, you came up a few times. Alain thought picking you was dumb, but Ian, like, pulled rank or something over it.”

“Pulled rank?” Nathalie looked up. “Does that mean he's the less powerful of the two?” She turned to Evelyn. “Do you know of him?”

Evelyn nodded. “He’s well-known.”

“And is he less powerful than Ian?”

“Yes,” Evelyn said, “but power wasn't Ian’s problem. Ian was more powerful than me, too. It's just he was also stupid enough to turn his back on a top-tier sorceress right after publicly insulting her to her face. Alain is not that idiotic, not by a long shot. And his specialty is…” she trailed off, frowning.

“His specialty is what?” Gabriel asked, his voice tense.

Evelyn tapped the surface of the table with a perfectly manicured fingernail. “I’m trying to think of a less camp way of saying ‘mind-control’.”

Adrien’s eyes widened. “Seriously?”

“I’m afraid so. Not that he could control another powerful sorcerer like me, and I suspect he’d have some difficulty managing a Miraculous holder as well, but still. We’ll have to confront him privately, away from innocent civilians that he could manipulate into attacking us.” Evelyn caught sight of her son’s expression. “What?”

“Nothing,” Adrien said, “I just think that's the first time I've heard you worry about innocent civilians all on your own, that's all. I'm kind of proud.”

Evelyn rolled her eyes, but she seemed pleased. She reached for the remaining papers. “Is there an address in here?”

“Yeah, hang on.” Alya dug through the stack and pulled out a few sheets and a couple of photographs. “This is where he was having things mailed to as recently as two weeks ago,” she said. “I got a few pictures of the place and asked around, but the building manager said he hasn’t been by to pick up mail in a while, and nobody I talked to in the lobby remembered seeing him since then, either.”

Adrien’s jaw dropped. “Alya, you weren’t supposed to do any recon!”

Alya raised an eyebrow. “You’re welcome?” she said sarcastically.

“What if he saw you coming, Alya?”

“Nobody ever sees me coming,” she said defensively.

“This is excellent work, dear, thank you,” Evelyn said before her son could voice any further objections. She calmly picked up the rest of the papers. “I think I can take it from here, but let me know if you find anything else.”

 

* * *

 

Nathalie was dressed for bed, sitting at her vanity, and brushing her hair when her husband entered the bedroom that night. “You’re here earlier than usual,” Nathalie observed, meeting his gaze in her mirror’s reflection.

Instead of replying, Gabriel took a deep breath. “Nooroo, wings up.”

Nathalie rolled her eyes as the room was briefly illuminated by the bright flash of his transformation. “Again? Really?” she asked, not getting up. “You spent all morning transformed, and I’ve barely seen you this evening.”

“You’re seeing me now,” Hawkmoth replied. “This is still me.” Nathalie ignored this and went back to brushing her hair out. “I know you have concerns, and I don’t blame you,” he continued, walking up behind her. “You think I’m diving into this too eagerly.”

“Aren’t you? Is it really necessary for you to spend this much time transformed?”

“It is. For two reasons. One, while my empathic abilities out of transformation have returned, they are still nowhere near where they need to be in order for me to keep an eye on this city. I can’t sense anything more than a block away. This is unacceptable. The more time I spend transformed, the faster that ability will re-develop.”

Nathalie raised an eyebrow. “What’s the second reason, then?”

In response, Hawkmoth bent over, sliding his hands around Nathalie’s waist as he leaned toward her ear. “The second reason,” he murmured, “is that in this form I am far more capable of sensing and satisfying your every need. And you _do_ have needs, Nathalie.” He lightly bit her earlobe. “Even untransformed, I could feel them all the way on the other side of the mansion.”

Nathalie’s cheeks flushed hot as she felt a jolt of pleasure-a jolt she knew Hawkmoth could feel as well. “Alright, then,” she whispered, placing the brush down as steadily as she could. “You’ve got the ‘sensing’ part down, I’ll grant. Let’s see how you go about the ‘satisfying’ part.”

Grinning, her husband bent down further, slid an arm under her knees, and scooped her up from the chair. He kissed her neck as he carried her over to their bed, kissed her collarbone, and practically threw her onto the mattress. She stared up at him, all uncertainties and reservations gone, but he held himself back and simply gazed at her for a while, basking in the sense of her mounting anticipation.

“Gabriel,” Nathalie finally whispered, “ _please_.”

“Try again.”

Nathalie smirked. “Pretty please?” she said with an amused pout.

Her husband shook his head. “Not what I meant.”

Nathalie’s grin faded, and a slight tremble ran through her. “Hawkmoth.”

Hawkmoth was on the bed in an instant, kneeling between Nathalie's legs, running his gloved hands up and down her thighs lightly. Then he moved further back, took Nathalie's left foot and lifted her leg up from the mattress. He kissed her ankle, then began kissing his way up her leg.

“Are you sure… _oh_ … a-are you sure you shouldn't change the name?” Nathalie asked breathlessly.

“Yes,” Hawkmoth murmured into her thigh. “To pick a new name would be to suggest I am an entirely new and different man. I am merely reformed. I must reform the name as well. To do otherwise would be,” Hawkmoth reached the hem of Nathalie's nightshirt, and he slid it up past her waist before continuing where he'd left off, “disingenuous. Can you accept the reformed version of this part of me, Nathalie? If I can't convince you, I have no hope with anyone else.”

“Well, this is-ah!” Nathalie gasped suddenly as Hawkmoth bit her hip. “This is certainly helping,” she admitted. She reached for his head and grinned. “It's nice to be able to grab your hair this time around,” she said, running her fingers through it before taking a handful. “Still, I have to wonder if you're planning on ever actually satisfying my needs, or if you're just going to tease them endlessly.”

Chuckling softly, Hawkmoth slid a finger under the waistband of Nathalie's underwear and pulled down hard.

 

* * *

 

Evelyn stopped by the next morning in the middle of breakfast, to everyone's surprise.

“I just wanted to drop these off,” she explained, placing a small box on the dining table before examining the spread, grabbing a croissant, and sitting down. Wordlessly, Gabriel picked up the box and flipped the lid open to reveal several sky-blue crystal points, each about ten centimeters long and perhaps a centimeter wide.

“What are those?” Nathalie asked suspiciously.

“Emergency beacons,” Evelyn said. “There are enough for everyone here as well as those friends of Adrien’s that seem to be getting involved. They're more brittle than they look,” she added, as Gabriel picked one up and handed it to Nathalie. “You should be able to snap them one-handed. Carry them around with you, break them if you run into any trouble, and I'll know immediately. If you're somewhere I've already set up a teleport to, like this mansion, I'll be here instantaneously. If not, it might take me a few more minutes, but I'll still come.” She looked at Nathalie’s barely concealed scowl and raised an eyebrow. “You could look a little more grateful for this, you know.”

“I'm sorry, I'm just sick of magic,” Nathalie replied, dropping her crystal in her blazer pocket. “I've had enough of it in the past few days for several lifetimes.”

“Well, hopefully this small bit of it will help you avoid the really nasty forms it can take,” Evelyn replied. “Trust me, you do not want to run into Alain without this.”

“This is fantastic, Mom, thank you,” Adrien said, leaning over and hugging her.

“Yes, thank you,” Nathalie added, far more stiffly. She made a show of looking at her watch. “Excuse me, I'm running a bit behind.” She got up and left the dining room without another word.

Gabriel followed after a few minutes later, finding her just as she was putting the finishing touches on her makeup. “Something's bothering you,” he said with total certainty.

“Evelyn’s acting weird. I don’t like it.”

Gabriel frowned. “She’s been nothing but helpful.”

“Exactly! It’s… I can deal with scary Evelyn, snide Evelyn, would-probably-kill-you-if-she-got-bored-enough Evelyn. Helpful Evelyn is completely baffling to me. What’s she after, why’s she doing all this?” Nathalie recapped her lipstick and turned to face her husband.

Gabriel tensed ever so slightly. “For Adrien’s sake, I imagine.”

“Maybe,” Nathalie said, “but there's more to it, isn't there? Another reason.”

Gabriel hesitated. “Not one she's confided in me,” he said evasively.

Nathalie folded her arms. “She doesn't need to confide in you, you're an empath again. There's something else.”

Gabriel tapped his fingers together nervously. “I think she misses being a part of a family,” he finally answered.

“This used to _be_ her family, and she abandoned it.”

“I know. Still.”

“And even after that, she basically has Adrien back,” Nathalie said, starting to grow agitated. “He's at her place almost every weekend she can be bothered to be in town, isn't he? So what part of her family does she miss, Gabriel?”

“It's not really my place to-”

“It must be you, right?”

Gabriel blinked. “What?”

“Her family,” Nathalie said slowly, “was you and Adrien. She has Adrien back. If she still misses some part of her family, the only part left to miss is _you_.”

“You don’t honestly think that Evelyn and I are… that we’re…”

“No, of course not,” Nathalie snapped. “I know you haven’t done anything, but,” Nathalie let out a frustrated sigh. “I’m trying to be realistic, Gabriel, and realistically it’s probably unreasonable for me to expect that there would be _nothing_ between you two.”

“Nathalie, you are my soulmate.”

Nathalie laughed humorlessly. “Yes, and that’s just supposed to trump everything else, isn’t it? A name appears out of nowhere on your back and suddenly the relationship you’ve spent decades working through is worthless, isn’t that right? You _know_ I don’t buy into that, Gabriel. You two were together for, what, twenty years? You were married, you raised a child together. A soulmark doesn’t cancel that out, a soulmark _shouldn’t_ cancel that out.”

“You weren’t worried before.”

Nathalie shrugged. “She was gone, she’d left all this. Even when she returned last year, she was still content to stay out of _our_ lives. Now she’s back, isn’t she? And you’ve finally forgiven her for leaving, I can see it.”

“Because she saved your life, Nathalie. Because _you_ mean that much to me.”

Nathalie sighed. “You can’t tell me your feelings for her are completely gone. I wouldn’t believe you if you did. She’s the mother of your _son_. And don’t give me any nonsense about me being the mother of your daughter,” she added quickly, as Gabriel started to protest, “because we both know being ten weeks pregnant is hardly the same thing as being a mother.”

Gabriel took a step towards his wife and closed the distance between them. “I was going to say,” he replied softly, “that you are also the mother of my son.”

For a moment, Nathalie was speechless. “Oh.”

Gabriel put a hand to his wife’s shoulder and squeezed it comfortingly. “You’re not wrong,” he admitted. “There will always be something that remains between Evelyn and me. And you’re not wrong, that a soulmark should not cancel out a marriage. But please, please believe me when I say that the past two years with you have been far happier and far healthier than the twenty I spent with Evelyn. Any lingering affection I feel towards her is nothing compared to what I feel for you.”

After a moment, Nathalie nodded. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I just… I’m not worried about you, I promise,” she said. “Evelyn, on the other hand-”

“You don’t need to worry about Evelyn,” Gabriel said confidently.

“Really? You know the last time she thought I stood between her and a family member she missed, she threatened to kill me. And you didn’t exactly deny it, when I suggested you sensed something from her empathically.”

Gabriel hesitated. “It’s not my place to say what I may or may not have sensed from Evelyn,” he finally said. “If her feelings are troubling to you, you should discuss them with her directly.”

Nathalie snorted. “Yeah, that’ll be the day,” she said derisively. She glanced at her watch. “Shoot, I actually am running late now.” She kissed her husband on the cheek and quickly left for work.

 

* * *

 

Alya’s mother had shouted her name at least three times now, but Alya barely registered it. She was too busy staring in shock at the email she’d just gotten. She was just reaching for her phone when her bedroom door opened, and she jumped.

“Alya?” Adrien poked his head in. “Sorry, when you didn't come down your mom said I could just come up myself. You okay?”

Alya blinked. “I was just about to call you.”

Adrien frowned, confused. “You were? I'm five minutes early.”

“Early for what?”

Adrien stared at her for a moment. “You said to swing by at three. You said you had new info on Alain.”

Alya's eyes widened. “You know who Alain is? How?”

Now Adrien looked outright scared. “You told me _yesterday_ who he is! Alya, what the hell is going on? Why were you about to call me?”

Alya pointed at her computer screen. “I got this email. From myself. It said to call you if I didn't remember sending it.” Adrien leaned over and quickly read the email:

 

_To: AlyaAdmin@ladyblog.fr_

_From: AlyaAdmin@ladyblog.fr_

_Subject: memory wipe precaution #5_

 

_Hey, gorgeous! It's about a quarter to one on Wednesday, and you just got a great lead on Alain’s most recent address. You're on your way to check it out, confirm it, and then you'll pass the info along to everybody else._

_If you don't remember sending this to yourself, call Adrien ASAP._

 

“Oh, no,” Adrien whispered, horrified.

“Adrien, why do I not remember sending this?” Alya asked, her voice small. “And why have I apparently been sending myself these things periodically since Monday?”

Adrien gulped. “Monday’s when I told you about… hang on, let me call my mother, I’ll explain once she’s on her way.”

The second Adrien mentioned Alya’s memory loss, his mother hung up on him after quickly promising to be there as soon as possible. He filled Alya in as quickly as possible, and Evelyn was there almost the moment after he’d finished. She skimmed the email after Adrien’s explanation, then looked at Alya. “That was very clever, sending yourself messages,” she said, impressed.

“Thanks,” Alya said. She frowned. “Sure wish I could remember _having_ that clever idea.”

“Well, we’ll see what we can do about that.” Evelyn turned to Alya and gently put a hand to either side of Alya’s face, looking into her eyes.

“You can undo memory spells?” Adrien asked hopefully.

“Not ones that are done properly,” Evelyn muttered, not moving her gaze, “but Alain might’ve...ha! Yes, he used a shortcut. I might be able to get them back.”

“Why would he use a shortcut?” Adrien asked.

“Because powerful sorcerers, particularly male ones, get overconfident. Let that be a lesson to you.” She continued to study Alya's face for a minute, then bit her lip. “Hm.”

“What?” Alya asked.

“Well, it's still not quite as sloppy a job as I'd have liked,” Evelyn said, frowning. “Getting your memories back might be very painful. Maybe we should just try to recreate the work you did today, find Alain that way.”

Alya shook her head. “I don't care if it hurts, I want my memories back.”

Adrien frowned. “Alya, you don't have to-”

“Yes, I do! Not knowing is driving me crazy, Adrien, I can't stand it. You know me, you know I hate not knowing things even when they don't have anything to do with me. This is so much worse, these are _my_ memories and I want them back.” Alya looked Evelyn dead in the eye. “Do whatever it takes.”

Evelyn nodded. “Very well.” She rose and walked over to the closed bedroom door, placed a palm on it, and muttered something under her breath.

“What’s that?” Adrien asked.

“Soundproofing,” Evelyn replied, crossing back to Alya. “So her parents don’t come running when they hear their daughter screaming bloody murder.”

Adrien went pale. “Alya, this is a bad idea.”

“No it isn’t,” Alya insisted. “It won’t hurt for long or do any permanent damage, right?” Evelyn nodded. “Then it’s fine.”

Evelyn put her hands back on either side of Alya’s face and began muttering under her breath once more. Adrien watched nervously as Alya’s expression, calm at first, slowly grew more and more strained. She dug her fingernails into her palm, and Adrien couldn’t tell if she being magically compelled to maintain eye contact with his mother, or if Alya was managing through sheer force of will.

She didn’t scream until about five minutes later, falling forward and grabbing her head, her face twisted up. Evelyn caught the girl in her arms, and Adrien immediately rushed forward to help support Alya’s weight. She was still shouting in pain when Evelyn and Adrien managed to get her sitting down on her bed.

“That was very good, dear,” Evelyn said comfortingly, keeping ahold of Alya so she didn’t fall backwards. “You were very strong.”

“Fuck,” Alya breathed, the first coherent thing she managed to say. “Fuck, fuck-”

“It’ll pass soon,” Evelyn promised. Alya shook her head weakly.

“No, it’s not… I mean, yes, it’s agony, my head is killing me, but it’s not that, it’s what I remember. What I did, what he made me…” she trailed off, horrified, and looked up at her friend. “Adrien, he’s got your stepmom. He’s got Nathalie.”


	8. Chapter 8

“...don't know what happened,” Alya said, her voice breaking, “his mom’s doing something now, some magic healing thing, but she doesn't know if he's gonna make it, his dad’s there too but Adrien keeps asking for you, so…”

Nathalie was only half-absorbing everything Adrien’s friend was telling her. She was trying to stay calm, trying to stay unemotional, trying not to think about how completely she would be unable to live with herself if this whole goddamn soulmark mess got Adrien killed. She followed after Alya as fast as she could, trying not to think about anything other than putting one foot in front of the other.

If she'd been thinking, of course, she might have wondered why the hell Evelyn had bought real estate in this part of Paris.

“… said to take the back entrance, it's over here,” Alya said as they reached a large apartment complex. Nathalie followed Alya around the corner, into the side alley-

-and ran straight into Alain Carre.

Nathalie immediately tried to retreat, but she only managed to get about half a step back before her legs froze. Fucking sorcerers, didn't they have any other go-to moves? Nathalie settled for glaring at the man, but it didn't seem to faze or even interest him. “Well done, Miss Cesaire,” he said pleasantly, “that was perfect.”

“Was anything she told me true?” Nathalie demanded.

“You know, I really couldn't say,” Alain replied. “I don't actually know what she told you. I simply instructed her to come up with something suitably distressing, something that would get you here quickly and put you out of a rational frame of mind. From the way your heart was racing even before you saw me, it seems she came up with something excellent. What was it? Your soulmate injured, dying?”

Nathalie forced her voice steady. “My stepson.”

“Really? And that got you this worked up? I don't think I would have thought of that. Good thing I left it to her.” Alain turned to Alya and took a step towards her. Alya’s expression had gone blank, and Nathalie fought back a shudder at the sight of it. Alain looked into Alya’s dead gaze and began muttering some spell under his breath.

Slowly, Nathalie slipped a hand into her pocket. She wrapped a few fingers around the crystal Evelyn had given her yesterday and-

-and nothing. Try as she might, her fingers refused to break the crystal, refused to do anything other than grasp it loosely.

“You should know I don't like being interrupted,” Alain murmured, before going back to his spell. A minute later, Alya turned around and walked away without a word.

“What did you do to that girl?”

“Far less than other sorcerers in my position would have, I can tell you that,” Alain replied. “Most people who get caught spying on a powerful sorcerer don't live to talk about it. I, on the other hand, simply erased all her memories of me and the things she uncovered.”

“Oh, good,” Nathalie said sarcastically, “a benevolent captor. That's new.”

Alain snorted. “Compared to Ian, you mean? Yes, I'm sure.”

“You know, kidnapping me didn't work out so well for him,” Nathalie said, doing her best to sound intimidating.

“Lucky for me I'm not Ian, then. All right, let's see what you were up to in the middle of my spell.” Alain reached into Nathalie’s pocket and pulled out the crystal. He studied it for a moment, then grinned. “Cute. Evelyn’s?” He waved his other hand over it, turning it to dust in his palm, and let it fall to the ground. “Come on.” He took Nathalie’s arm, opened the side door, and pulled her inside.

There was an elevator not three meters from the door, and before Nathalie could even take a look around and evaluate her possible escape options, they were within it. It opened at the top floor, within Alain’s apartment, and he took Nathalie down to the end of a hallway before bringing her into a small room. Nathalie couldn’t help but roll her eyes when Alain pulled out a pair of handcuffs. “You certainly seem intent on repeating all of Ian’s mistakes, don’t you?” Nathalie asked wryly.

Alain sighed. “I know, I know,” he said apologetically, as he locked Nathalie to the room’s radiator. “If there was any other way, I assure you I wouldn't be doing this. But you and yours don't seem inclined to live and let live, if that girl you had snooping around is any indication. My back’s against the wall here. I need to get a step ahead and augment my power before Evelyn finds me herself. So you’ll just wait in here until I’m ready to sever your soul link, won’t you?"

Once Alain was gone, Nathalie counted out five minutes worth of seconds before picking the lock. Again. Trying not to think about how getting kidnapped was becoming a run-of-the-mill thing lately.

Slowly, she eased the door open and made her way into the apartment hallway. The floor was carpeted, and it was almost too easy to make her way down it towards the exit. She paused right outside one room. The door was closed, but Nathalie could hear Alain within, preparing God knew what. He sounded distracted, and so far Nathalie hadn't had any trouble keeping quiet. It was probably safe to carefully walk past the door and continue to move down the hallway.

Nathalie grabbed the doorknob, opened the door, and walked inside.

It was a small room, brightly lit. The back corner was blocked in by bars, transforming it into a small makeshift cell large enough for a few people at most, and every other inch of wallspace was lined with shelves loaded with books and ingredients. Alain was at the center of the room, sitting at a wooden desk covered in various vials, and he didn't bother looking up when Nathalie entered. “You're earlier than I expected,” he said calmly. “How did you manage to escape so quickly?”

“Picked the lock with a bobby pin,” Nathalie answered.

Alain nodded. “Well, that's what comes of not bothering with backup magic. I assume you did the same thing with Ian? I’ll miss him, but I’m afraid I can't say I'm surprised at his untimely demise. He always thought raw power could overcome any sloppiness, but of course there's no substitute for being careful. Hand me that green vial, would you?” Nathalie walked over to the desk, carefully picked up the green test tube at the far end of it, and handed it over to Alain. “Thank you.”

Nathalie watched him work for about ten minutes, occasionally handing him ingredients or tools as he asked for them. Slowly, she became aware of a nagging feeling in the back of her mind, the sensation of someone shouting at her from a great distance away. “Why… why did I come in here?” she asked, confused.

“I asked you to. Besides, what else would you have done?” Alain asked.

“Left this apartment. I was escaping.”

Sighing, Alain finally looked up. “Look into my eyes,” he said, and Nathalie immediately obliged. “Why would you escape? You don't want to leave.”

“No,” Nathalie agreed. “I don't want to leave.”

“You want to stay here and help me finish my work.”

Nathalie nodded. The nagging feeling was gone. “Yes, I want to help.”

Alain held up the large beaker he’d been working on. “Does this look more green or blue to you?”

Nathalie bent down and squinted at it. “It's viridian,” she replied.

“It's what?”

“Viridian. It's in the cyan family.”

“Neither of those words means anything to me.”

“Sorry,” Nathalie apologized. “Five years of being the personal assistant of a high-end fashion designer, I forget not everybody needs to be able to tell a hundred different shades apart at the drop of a hat. Cyan’s the blue-green spectrum. Viridian’s closer to the green end.”

“Shoot.” Alain pulled out an eye dropper and began slowly adding a clear liquid to the mixture. With every drop the shade changed ever so slightly. “This is where I could really use Ian’s help,” he muttered. “Shame you had to go and kill him.”

“Evelyn killed him.”

Alain waved a hand impatiently. “Same difference. I told Ian it was too risky, picking someone related to a sorceress like Evelyn, but any time he’d get a dumb idea like that he'd never let it go. I was surprised she was willing to go so far, though. I mean, I figured she might make some retaliatory trouble later, but outright killing another sorcerer? Why would Evelyn risk her life like that for someone like you? Or was it for her ex-husband’s sake?”

Nathalie scoffed. “Who knows why that woman does anything? She threatened to kill me herself last year, you know.”

“And you're still breathing? She must really like you.” Alain frowned. “I'm not looking forward to dealing with her, to be honest, but I'm sure you'll help me take her guard down when the time comes, won't you?” Nathalie nodded eagerly. “If she comes to rescue you at all, anyway. Do you think she will?”

Nathalie shrugged. “It might not be her who comes, I guess. Someone will, though.”

Alain raised an eyebrow. “Who else would come?”

“Chat Noir, Ladybug-”

“Oh, _them_ ,” Alain interrupted, relaxing. “Of course. The saviors of Paris will come to rescue you, will they?” He shook his head. “Don't worry about them, sorcerers have been flying under the radar of superheroes for decades now. And I highly doubt Evelyn would think of recruiting them to help, even if she knew how.”

“She knows how,” Nathalie replied. “Chat’s her son.”

Alain froze for a moment, and then he very carefully placed the eye dropper back in its vial. “For _fuck’s_ sake,” he muttered angrily. “So not only do I have to worry about a sorceress of Evelyn’s caliber, I have to worry about two Miraculous holders as well?”

“Three,” Nathalie corrected. “My husband just reacquired the Butterfly one.”

Alain clenched his jaw for a moment, then abruptly stood and looked Nathalie in the eyes again. “Don't move from that spot and don't touch anything until I get back, understood?” Nathalie nodded, and Alain stormed out of the room.

For the first ten minutes, Nathalie didn't even think of moving. Alain said not to move. She was here to help Alain, wasn't she? So obviously she should do whatever he said.

Slowly, Nathalie became aware of a new feeling, a new urge. Was it boredom? Did she want to go find Alain, see if she could help him with whatever he was doing?

No. It was that nagging feeling again, that sense that she should be trying to escape.

Five minutes later, Nathalie picked up her right foot.

_I should take a step towards the door. And another. I should leave this room, leave this apartment, get out, get back to Gabriel._

Nathalie put her foot back down where it had been.

_If you don't get out of here, you're going to die._

Nathalie's foot was raised again when Alain finally returned. “What are you doing?” he asked.

“Trying to leave,” Nathalie answered. “But I can't put my foot down anywhere other than where it started.”

Alain chuckled and walked over to her. “Look at me,” he said again. After a few seconds of staring into his eyes, the nagging feeling was gone. “Your resistance is through the roof, isn't it?” he asked, impressed. “For a regular person, anyway. You must naturally be incredibly stubborn.”

Nathalie nodded in agreement. “Sorry,” she apologized.

“No worries, no harm done,” Alain assured her. “And my defenses should be shored up enough to deal with everyone who might be coming for you now.”

“Oh, good,” Nathalie said, sighing in relief.

“Now,” Alain got back in his desk chair and resumed his work, “while you're helping me with this, why don't you tell me everything you think might be useful for dealing with the Miraculous users?”

 

* * *

 

Nathalie had been answering Alain’s questions and assisting him with his prep work for about half an hour when there was suddenly a loud bang behind her. Nathalie turned, curious, to see her husband knocked flat on his back, his transformation quickly vanishing.

“Hawkmoth,” Alain said, standing up. “I was hoping, when your wife gave me the ridiculously long list of people that might show up to rescue her, that you'd be the first to come. After all, the ritual to sever a soul link becomes that much easier when you have both halves present. And since she gave me plenty of advance notice, it was easy enough to set up a field blocking Miraculous transformations. Teleporting right into the middle of it must have been excruciating.”

Slowly, Gabriel got to his feet. He took a step towards them, and Alain held a hand up, freezing him in place. “Let her go,” Gabriel said, grimacing, “and you might survive this.”

“Let her go?” Alain asked, with feigned confusion. He turned to Nathalie. “You don't want to _leave_ , do you, Nathalie?”

Nathalie shook her head. “No, of course not.”

Gabriel’s eyes widened in alarm as he looked at Nathalie. She looked back at him calmly, and Gabriel glared at Alain. “What did you do to my wife?”

Alain studied Gabriel for a few seconds, then frowned. “Something I can't seem to be able to do to you, unfortunately. I wonder if that's a protection built into all Miraculouses, or if it's unique to yours? The Butterfly one does come with its own form of mind control after all, doesn't it? Well, arguably. It’s a rather esoteric form of it, so I suppose semantically one could object to-”

“When I don't return with Nathalie in the next three seconds,” Gabriel interrupted, “the rest of my family is going to realize something's gone wrong, and they'll be prepared to deal with it when they come for us. You are not a match for them.”

“Not now,” Alain agreed, “but once I harness your soul link, I'll have more than enough power to deal with Evelyn and the superheroes. In the meantime, I'm going to have to ask you to hand over that Miraculous.”

Gabriel glared. “Why would I do that?”

Alain sighed. “I hate to be cliche here, but I _do_ have your wife.”

“You can't kill her, you need her alive for that stupid ritual.”

“True. ‘Alive’ is such a low bar, though, isn't it?” Alain glanced at Nathalie. “Nathalie, do me a favor and hold up your hand so I can pick which of your fingers I’ll have you break for me.”

Nathalie looked down at her hands. “Right or left?”

“Oh, let’s go with the right hand.” Nathalie held up her right hand, fingers splayed.

“Stop!” Gabriel shouted, panicked. He quickly fumbled with the brooch pinned under his tie, managed to unfasten it, and threw it at Alain. “There,” he said, as the Miraculous landed near Alain’s feet. “Just leave her alone.”

Alain kept his focus fixed on Gabriel. “Nathalie, pick that up for me.” Nathalie bent down, grabbed the brooch, and held it out to Alain. He glanced at it and scowled. “It's still bound to you,” he complained to Gabriel. “I suppose giving it up willingly isn't enough, you'd have to genuinely want to surrender its power. Oh well, at least you can't use it now.” Alain took the brooch from Nathalie and dropped it into his shirt’s breast pocket. “Still, I think just to be safe, and so I can finish my work in some semblance of peace, you’d better get in there.” Alain released Gabriel and gestured across the room to the open cell. Gabriel took one more look at Nathalie, then scowled and walked across the room. Alain turned his focus to Nathalie. “You’ve been very helpful, I appreciate it,” he said, “but I don’t really need any more of your assistance until later, and it’s a bit of an energy drain to keep refreshing my control over you, so why don’t you join your husband for now? I’ll let you know when I need you again.”

Nathalie nodded. “Alright,” she agreed, before following after Gabriel. Once they were both in, Alain flicked his wrist, the door slammed shut, and he returned to his work.

Nathalie stood still and watched Alain patiently. Gabriel put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her towards him. She ignored this, but didn’t fight it. It didn't have anything to do with helping Alain, after all.

Ten minutes later, Nathalie frowned. “Something… something's wrong. Why did I… I should…” She fell silent, but drew a little closer to Gabriel.

About ten minutes after that, she started shaking suddenly. “Nathalie?” Gabriel whispered, tightening his grip.

“Gabriel. Gabriel. I… I…” Nathalie’s breathing quickened and her eyes widened. “Oh, God.” Alain glanced up towards her for a moment, curious, then returned his focus to his work. Nathalie covered her mouth, horrified. “Oh God, Gabriel, what have I done?”

“Nothing,” Gabriel insisted immediately. “It wasn’t you, you couldn’t have-”

“I told him about Adrien!” she whispered frantically. “He didn’t even _ask_! Why would I do that, Gabriel? Why?” Gabriel sighed, then pulled his wife into an embrace and held her until her shaking subsided.

 

* * *

 

“You wanted to give up all that power,” Nathalie whispered, breaking a long silence.

“What?”

“The Miraculous.”

“I didn't, not while you're in danger. That's why it's still-”

“I meant the first time. When you gave it to me two years ago. It wasn't bound to you then.”

“Oh.” Gabriel considered this. “Yes, I suppose I did.” Nathalie tightened her embrace and pressed her head to Gabriel’s chest.

“I'm sorry,” she whispered. “I'm sorry I was so worried when you took it back, so nervous. You gave it up for the right reasons and you took it back for the right reasons, too.”

“You had every right to be nervous. I was nervous, too. I wish it had been worth the risk, I wish taking it back had been any use at all, but now we’re here. I'm so sorry,” he whispered, kissing the top of her head. “You don't even like soulmarks, you never wanted one, and now ours is going to get you killed.”

Nathalie sighed. “I never wanted one, true, but we were too stubborn to get together without them, weren't we? And these past two years, Gabriel, they've been so wonderful. I'm not sorry I got one, not anymore.”

“Shoot,” Alain muttered, looking up suddenly. “Evelyn’s here. With her _son_.” He looked over at Nathalie. “I’m not quite ready, so I’ll need you to take care of them.”

Nathalie scrunched her eyes closed. “Go to hell,” she spat.

Alain sighed and calmly walked over to the cell. “Nathalie, there’s really no use in resisting me.”

“I would rather claw my own eyes out than let you control me again.”

Alain chuckled. “Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the enthusiasm, but it doesn’t work that way. Eye contact helps, of course, but it’s hardly necessary. Here, I’ll show you. Open your eyes and look at me.” Nathalie immediately did so, and Gabriel felt her relax in his arms. “There, isn’t that better?”

Nathalie nodded. “Yes,” she agreed. “Much better.”

Alain opened the door of the cell. “Come on out, then.” Nathalie started for the door, but Gabriel kept a tight grip on her. She struggled, unable to break away from him, and began to grow more distressed the longer she was prevented from obeying. Alain raised an eyebrow at Gabriel. “Let her go.”

“Like hell I will,” Gabriel snarled.

Alain sighed. “Do we have to go through this again? You can’t protect her if I want to hurt her. Cooperate, and she won’t suffer. Keep resisting me, however, and…” Alain trailed off, then waved a hand in Nathalie’s direction. She instantly flinched and cried out. Gabriel immediately released her, as though her cry of pain had burned him, and Nathalie bolted out of the cell. Alain closed the door again. “Nathalie, I need you to pay very close attention to me, okay?”

Nathalie nodded. “Of course.”

“Because this next part is much more complicated than what I've been having you do so far, and I need to use a lot more power to pull it off.”

“I understand.”

“Good.” Alain took his index and middle fingers and placed the pads of them on Nathalie's temples. “Look right at me.” Power flowed from Alain into Nathalie, warm and intoxicating, and Nathalie smiled gently.

“Get your hands off her,” Gabriel growled.

“Nathalie doesn't mind, do you Nathalie?” Nathalie shook her head lightly, careful not to break Alain’s contact. “Alright, Nathalie, after I'm done explaining, you're going to leave this apartment. You'll go down the elevator, just the way we came in, and go outside to where Evelyn and her son are. You'll pretend you've managed to escape, and you'll make it very convincing. You'll tell them about the anti-Miraculous field, to earn their trust. You'll behave exactly as you would if you weren't under my control. Then you'll tell them I'm holding your husband up here. Tell them to come into this apartment, take a right, and they'll find him inside the third room on the left. Now, it's very important they enter that room of their own free will, understand? Say whatever you have to so they enter _willingly_. If you push them, if you force them, they'll be able to get out. Got it?”

Nathalie nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, I'll do that exactly.”

“Good girl. I'd like you to come back up with them but If they insist on leaving you behind for safety, don't fight it any more than you normally would. The important thing is to not arouse suspicion. You just return to me when it's safe for you to do so.”

Nathalie nodded again, then left the room.


	9. Chapter 9

Adrien’s hearing, even out of transformation, had been inhumanly accute ever since he’d taken up the Black Cat Miraculous three years earlier. He heard the elevator within the apartment building when it was about halfway to the first floor, and quickly assessed his options. There wasn’t enough time to transform, so Adrien settled for ducking behind the alley’s dumpster. If it was some innocent third party exiting, they probably wouldn’t even look in this direction before leaving. If it was Alain… well, facing Alain untransformed wasn’t ideal, but even as a civilian, possessing the Miraculous came with some decent magic resistance. Adrien figured he could at least hold Alain off until his mother got back from setting up her perimeters around the building. Adrien assumed those were the only two options. He didn’t expect-

“Nathalie!”

Wild-eyed, Nathalie looked around. “Adrien!” She embraced him fervently as he ran to her.

“Thank God you’re okay, after Alya told us-”

“I’m just glad I escaped in time to stop you,” Nathalie interrupted. “You can’t go up there, Alain set up some kind of Miraculous block. It got your father. I’m so sorry, Adrien, he’s still trapped up there.”

Adrien’s face fell. “I have to rescue him, you know I do.”

Nathalie looked at Adrien for a moment, took in his resolute expression, and sighed. “Yes, I suppose I do.” She took a deep breath. “Alright. Well, you should be able to get in undetected with Evelyn’s help, I suppose. Alain’s distracted working on the severing ritual. Your father’s being kept in a separate room. Take the elevator all the way to the top floor, take a right, and your father’s in the third room on the left.”

Adrien nodded. “Got it. Mom should be back any second.”

“Good.” Nathalie frowned, then ran her fingers through Adrien’s hair. “If… if it’s your life or stopping the ritual, Adrien, promise me you’ll get out.”

“Nathalie, I can’t-”

“Adrien, your life is more important than mine or Gabriel’s. You know your father agrees with me on that, don’t you? I can’t imagine living with myself if you got killed because of all this.”

“I’m not going to get-”

“ _Promise_ me, Adrien.”

After a moment of hesitation, Adrien nodded. “I promise,” he whispered. Nathalie released him, and looked over to the end of the alley, where Evelyn had just appeared. Evelyn froze for a second at the sight of her.

“Nathalie? You escaped?”

“Well, I’ve been getting an obnoxious amount of practice at it lately,” Nathalie said wryly. In response, Evelyn’s face broke into a giant grin and she ran over to Nathalie, embracing her eagerly. “What the-Evelyn, what are you _doing_?”

Evelyn tightened her hug. “What, I can’t be happy you’re alright?”

“Not _this_ happy,” Nathalie said, annoyed.

“Oh, Nathalie,” Evelyn sighed, “you know me so well.” Nathalie tried to pull away, but it was too late. Evelyn’s grip on her suddenly became vice-like. She whispered something Nathalie couldn’t understand into her ear, snapped her fingers, and Nathalie instantly fell unconscious.

Adrien stared at his mother, stunned. “What was that for?” he demanded.

Evelyn awkwardly lowered Nathalie to the ground. “Adrien, darling, I love you, you know I do, and I think you're a very intelligent young man, but _sometimes_. Sometimes, as your mother, and considering the line of work you've chosen to be in, sometimes I really, really worry about how trusting you are.”

Her son’s eyes widened. “You think she was-”

“I _know_ she was in the possession of an exceptional mind controller,” Evelyn corrected, standing back up. “For over two hours now. And I know she is just as vulnerable to his magic as your friend was. If Nathalie was not under his influence when she exited the building, Alain is far stupider than I think he is.”

“But she told me about the Miraculous block-”

“Which we'd already figured out when your father didn’t return immediately. It cost Alain nothing to allow her to reveal it.”

Adrien looked down at Nathalie. “She told me how to rescue Father, what room Alain was holding him in. She made me promise to… she seemed so _Nathalie_.”

Evelyn sighed. “Either way, she’ll be awake soon. If I'm wrong, no harm done. She'll be mad at me, but what else is new?”

The two waited in silence, and Nathalie's eyes opened about a minute later. Adrien immediately crouched down and leaned over her. “Nathalie?”

“I'm going to kill that man,” Nathalie said calmly. “I don't care if he is a sorcerer, I'm going to rip his throat out with my bare hands.”

Adrien sighed, relieved. “Oh, Nathalie,” he said, taking her hand and helping her sit up, “I thought you were the one parent I could count on to not get all homicidal on me.”

“Or my teeth, I might rip his throat out with my teeth, I haven't decided yet.”

“What's in that room you told Adrien about?” Evelyn asked abruptly.

Nathalie looked up at Evelyn. “I'm fine, thanks for asking,” she replied.

Evelyn’s eyebrow shot up. “You're _welcome_ ,” she snapped back. “ _Again_ , I might add. And for your information, Nathalie, it is _Wednesday_. You couldn't even go a full week without getting kidnapped again.”

“Oh, I'm sorry Evelyn, is my getting constantly abducted by your colleagues becoming inconvenient for you?”

“What's. In. The room?”

“I have no idea,” Nathalie replied. “Not Gabriel. Alain said if you go in willingly, you won't be able to leave. Not in time to stop him, anyway.”

“Funnel web,” Evelyn muttered. “Well, those are easy enough to avoid if you know they're there. What other defenses did he set up?”

“Other than the Miraculous block? I have no idea.”

Evelyn frowned. “Well, how close is he to completing the ritual?”

Nathalie sighed, frustrated. “‘Not quite ready’, he said. He wasn't exactly giving me a detailed account of everything. Mostly he was just having me play his goddamn lab assistant. He did seem to be having a lot of trouble with the prep work, if that's any comfort.”

“Maybe,” Evelyn said, “but time is still of the essence. We should go in immediately. You can convince Alain you tricked us while Adrien and I take out the Miraculous block.”

Adrien's jaw dropped. “You can't send Nathalie back in there, she doesn't have any powers or defenses or _anything_. Father’s going to kill us if we let her go back.”

“ _Alain_ is going to kill us if he completes that ritual,” Evelyn said, annoyed. “Immediately, and very easily I might add. Keeping Gabriel’s precious fragile bride-”

“ _Excuse_ me?”

“-safely out of harm’s way is not a priority right now. Doing whatever it takes, using whatever or whoever we have at our disposal, to stop Alain is our only priority.”

“Not that I don't agree,” Nathalie said, “but once I'm in a room with Alain again, I'm a danger to all of us. Alain, he doesn't just control your actions, he controls _everything_. The second he looks at me, I'll be eagerly volunteering everything I think he might want to hear. I’ll give you both away immediately. I don't… I don't think I can effectively convey how thoroughly he turned me against myself.”

A flash of pity crossed Evelyn's face, and she held a hand out, helping Nathalie to her feet. “Hold still,” she instructed, before pressing both her thumbs to the center of Nathalie's forehead. The skin beneath them instantly began to burn, but Nathalie steeled herself and didn't move or make a noise. A minute later, Evelyn released her. “There. That’ll probably keep Alain out of your head for long enough.”

“Probably?” Nathalie repeated, incredulous.

“It's the best I can do,” Evelyn said defensively, “and we’re out of options. You'll still have to resist him yourself, but you should be able to now.”

Nathalie's eyes darted upwards, towards Alain’s apartment, and she shuddered but nodded all the same. “Fine. Let's go.”

“I still don't think-” Adrien trailed off as both of his mothers turned and glared at him simultaneously. “Father’s going to kill me,” he muttered under his breath as he followed them inside.

“Adrien,” Nathalie said softly, as the doors of the elevator closed, “I expect you to honor that promise you just made to me.”

“But you were-”

“I meant everything I said,” Nathalie insisted. “Well, everything except which room your father’s in, that was a trap. But Alain instructed me to otherwise behave as I would if I'd genuinely escaped, and I did.”

“I know, but you were still under his-”

“Your life is not worth mine or your father’s,” Nathalie interrupted. Her tone was unemotional, and pure steel; there was no arguing with it. Adrien nodded silently, and out of the corner of her eye Nathalie noticed Evelyn take her son’s hand and squeeze it before the elevator doors opened.

Once inside Alain’s apartment, Evelyn immediately scanned the main room, then gestured silently for Adrien to follow her towards the back. Nathalie watched them round a corner, then counted to thirty in her head before making her way back to Alain’s workroom. She allowed herself half a second, bracing herself, before plastering that sickeningly bland expression on her face and opening the door.

“Nathalie!” Alain said cheerfully, and even before he looked up to stare into her eyes, Nathalie could feel his power crash into her. It took all her self-control to not open her mouth and tell the man everything. Whatever Evelyn had done allowed Nathalie an awareness she hadn’t had before, the ability to directly sense Alain’s magic working itself upon her. It allowed Nathalie to resist that power as well, but just barely. “How did it go?”

“Perfectly,” Nathalie replied, forcing herself to smile gently. “They didn’t suspect a thing.”

“Excellent, excellent.” Alain rose from the table and walked towards her. “I’ll just check and make sure the trap’s working properly.” Nathalie thought she kept her expression perfectly neutral, but something must have come through on her face because Alain’s eyes narrowed and Nathalie felt another surge of his power. “What’s wrong?” he demanded.

Nathalie’s mind raced. “Shouldn’t you finish the ritual?” she asked. That was easier to say than the lie had been, it went along with Nathalie’s compulsion to assist Alain. Alain relaxed and patted her shoulder comfortingly.

“Don’t worry,” he said, “it’s just about done, the potion just needs to set a bit. You’ll keep an eye on it for me while I’m out, and shout if anything happens, won’t you?”

Nathalie nodded earnestly. “Of course.” Nathalie watched, helpless, as Alain left the room. She didn’t allow herself to look at her husband until the door was closed.

“What the _hell_ were you thinking, coming back in here?” Gabriel demanded, scowling at her from the other side of the bars. It was lucky, Nathalie realized, that Alain hadn’t been able to claim the Butterfly Miraculous, or he’d have been able to sense her deception just as easily as Gabriel did.

“Oh, you know,” Nathalie said casually, “you just make such an irresistible damsel in distress, I had to-”

“The entire point of me coming here was to get you out. How dare you willingly come back into this nightmare?”

“The entire point was to stop the ritual,” Nathalie corrected. She took a step towards the desk, then another, pushing herself through Alain’s magic. “It doesn’t matter if I’m here or if I run home, if Alain completes it I’m dead either way. I might as well do what I can to help defeat him.” Nathalie’s fingers closed around the mouth of the flask Alain had been working on for the last few hours. She tried to pick it up and smash it on the floor, but after a few seconds of struggling in vain she settled for tipping it over. The liquid poured out, spilling over the table and onto the floor. Nathalie felt herself opening her mouth to shout for Alain, catching herself just in time. “Do you think that’s enough?” she asked, looking at the potion that still remained in the flask. “I can’t do any more, Evelyn cast something to block Alain’s magic but apparently it only goes so far.”

“Get this damn door open and I’ll take care of it myself,” Gabriel said.

“Hmm. That’s an idea.” Nathalie examined the lock for a moment. “I don’t know if I can pick that before Alain gets back, but it’s worth a-”

“The key is hanging off that shelf to your right,” Gabriel interrupted.

Nathalie scoffed. “You’re no fun.” She crossed to the shelf, grabbed the key off its hook, and stared at it.

“Nathalie,” Gabriel said a few moments later, his voice artificially steady, “bring the key over here.”

Nathalie blinked. “I can’t,” she whispered, all the effort she was putting into moving towards her husband resulting in nothing but her eyes growing damp. “I’m sorry, I’m trying, I really am, I just-”

“It’s not your fault,” Gabriel said immediately. “Can you throw it over instead? Maybe that will be easier than unlocking the door yourself.”

“Maybe.” Nathalie pulled her hand back and tried to toss the key at Gabriel, but instead of releasing it her fingers tightened around it. “Shoot.” She tried again. “I think I almost-”

The door to the room flew open, banging loudly against the wall, and Nathalie was suddenly slammed against the shelves, the key falling from her hand and clattering to the ground.

“That,” Alain said, “was almost impressive.” He stormed over to Nathalie, focusing intently on her forehead. “Fucking Evelyn,” he muttered after a moment. “You almost got me killed, you know, letting me go after her.”

Nathalie just barely managed to keep from apologizing. “Turnabout’s fair play, isn’t it?” she said instead.

“Fair enough,” Alain admitted. “Well, Evelyn’s taken care of, along with that superhero stepson of yours, and it’s not like I need control of your mind any longer.” He turned away from Nathalie, but she stayed pinned against the wall, unable to move. She shot Gabriel an apologetic glance as Alain examined the spilled flask. He picked it up, then poured the remaining liquid over his right hand. It evaporated before hitting his skin, instead swirling around it in a thick fog, green and glowing. After a few seconds his hand seemed to absorb the fog, and Alain looked back at Nathalie. He waved his hand toward her, and some unseen force flipped her around so she was now pressed face-first against the shelves, her back to Alain. He walked over and grabbed her blouse, tearing a giant hole in the fabric as easily as if it were tissue paper. Nathalie shivered at the sudden breeze on her back.

“If you lay one enchanted finger on her, I’ll-” The rest of Gabriel’s threat died in his throat.

“Patience, Agreste,” Alain said calmly, “I’ll be moving on to you next. Admittedly, it’s a bit overkill, casting it on both of you, but it should cut the activation time in half and I’m in a hurry.” Nathalie felt Alain press an index finger to her upper back and trace the ‘G’ of her soulmark.

If Nathalie could have screamed, she would have. It burned, like acid but deeper, Nathalie could feel the magic of it burrowing to the very center of her. Worse than that, though, was the perversion of this intimacy she’d shared with Gabriel countless times. Gabriel had been tracing his finger over that mark since before Nathalie had even known it was Gabriel doing it. It was the one thing she liked about having the damn mark in the first place and Alain was ruining it, he was making a mockery of the act and killing both her and Gabriel in the process.

Gabriel had traced the mark so many times that Nathalie could easily tell each letter apart as Alain went through them himself. As he reached the ‘A’ of ‘Agreste’, Nathalie felt the room begin to spin, and by the time he reached the final ‘e’, the only thing keeping Nathalie on her feet was Alain’s magic pinning her against the shelves. Alain took a step back, and Nathalie’s heart sank as he breathed a huge sigh of relief.

“There,” Alain said, “it’s cast. No sense not speeding things along, though, so-”

The door flew open again, and this time it was Alain being suddenly thrown into a wall by some invisible force. His hold on Nathalie broke, and she instantly fell to her knees, getting only the briefest glimpse of Evelyn, Chat and Ladybug before she was on the ground. The cell opened next, and before Nathalie knew what was happening Gabriel’s arms were around her. She sank into him for a moment, numb and unwilling to process everything that had just happened.

“Can you stand?” Gabriel whispered.

Nathalie nodded. “I think so.” Gabriel kept his arms around her, supporting her waist, and she shakily got to her feet and looked around. Ladybug had Alain wrapped up in the string of her yo-yo, and Evelyn was concentrating on him as well, her hand splayed and towards him as her magic helped hold him in place. Alain grinned as Nathalie came into view.

“You’re too late,” he said to the room. “It’s done.”

Evelyn’s fingers curled, and Alain’s breathing grew slightly heavier. “If we were really too late,” Evelyn said, “you’d have killed all of us. The ritual isn’t active yet, is it?”

“It’s set in motion,” Alain replied. “Even if you kill me now, their bond will still break.”

“Tell me how to interrupt it, and _maybe_ we won’t kill you,” Evelyn said. Alain laughed.

“Even if I wanted to, you’re out of time. The potion that neutralizes the spell takes hours to properly make, and you have minutes at most. If you want to-”

“Potion?” Ladybug interrupted, her eyes widening. She held up a small stoppered vial. “Is _that_ what this thing is for? Because it was pretty useless for getting Chat and his mother out of that trap you had them in, and I’ve never gotten a complete dud of a Lucky Charm before, so I figured it had to be good for something, but I didn’t know if-” Ladybug stopped babbling as Evelyn abruptly snatched the vial out of her hands, marched over to Nathalie, pulled the plug out, and poured the contents of it over Nathalie’s back. The relief was instant. Nathalie let out a huge sigh as she straightened, now able to stand on her own.

Evelyn turned back to Alain. “You should have cooperated when you had the chance,” she said. “It looks like the one bargaining chip you had is gone.”

“Yes,” Alain said, “I suppose it is. Oh well, I put up a good fight, didn’t I?” He looked at the two heroes. “You two are going to let her kill me, then, is that it? Cold-blooded murder is something the heroes of Paris are comfortable with, now?”

“You tried to kill my parents,” Chat said angrily. “You’re a danger to the city if we let you go.”

“True.” Alain’s gaze flickered towards Nathalie, their eyes met, and in the blink of an eye she’d grabbed a knife off Alain’s desk, taken a huge step back and away from Evelyn and Gabriel, and put the knife to her own throat. “Look at that,” Alain said calmly, “it seems I managed to get ahold of another bargaining chip after all.”

Evelyn whirled on Alain, the fingers of her hand tense and curled. “Get the hell out of her head,” she snarled, “before I get in _your_ head. With my thumbs. Through your eye sockets.”

“Something tells me Nathalie isn’t going to react very well if you do anything to me right now,” Alain replied, only struggling slightly to speak through Evelyn’s hold on him.

Gabriel hadn’t taken his eyes off Nathalie, he was ignoring everything else around them. “Fight it,” he said to her. “I know you can, you fought him before, you were incredible. Just open your hand and drop the knife.”

“I’m trying,” Nathalie whispered. Her hand shook for a moment, and then she pressed the blade harder against the skin of her neck. Grimacing, Nathalie closed her eyes and concentrated. A second later her fingers opened, and the knife clattered loudly to the floor.

Gabriel rushed forward, grabbing Nathalie before she could bend down and retrieve the knife, and Evelyn quickly went up to Alain. The second her fingers touched his temple, his eyes closed and he went limp.

“Is he…” Chat didn't finish the question.

“Not yet,” Evelyn said darkly. “We have to figure out what to do with him before he wakes up.”

“We’re not killing him,” Ladybug said. “We’ll figure something else out.”

“You're not the only one who’s earned a say,” Evelyn snapped. She looked at Nathalie. “What do you think?”

Nathalie stared at the unconscious man for a moment, the man who had turned her against herself, tried to kill her and the rest of her family. “I don't care,” Nathalie said wearily. “He's nothing. You figure it out without me. I just want to go home. I'm so tired, Evelyn.”

Evelyn nodded. “Alright,” she said gently, “we’ll figure it out, you don't have to be involved. Gabriel can take you home.” She looked at Gabriel. “Where's your Miraculous?” Gabriel gestured to Alain’s front pocket, and Evelyn fished the brooch out and tossed it to him.

“Should I return?” Gabriel asked, as he pinned the Miraculous under his tie. “Do you need me here?”

“No,” Chat said immediately. His father’s tone had been neutral, but it was still clear how hard it had been, for Gabriel to offer. “No, stay with Nathalie. We can take care of Alain, right?” Evelyn and Ladybug nodded.

“Thank you.” Gabriel put his arm back around Nathalie’s waist. “Nooroo, wings up.” That now-familiar flash of light, and a second later Nathalie was back in her bedroom. She’d only left it a few hours ago, but it felt much longer. She slowly lowered herself to the bed, sitting on its edge, and her husband followed, keeping his arm around her.

“Do you need anything?” Gabriel- _Hawkmoth_ -asked her.

Nathalie shook her head. “No, just stay.”

“Of course. Nooroo, wings d-”

“No,” Nathalie interrupted. “No, leave it, it feels safer.” She leaned her head against his chest, tightening her embrace. Surprised, Hawkmoth nodded and kissed the top of her head.


	10. Chapter 10

Fu stared at Nathalie’s soulmark in silence for so long that Nathalie started to feel nervous. She glanced across Fu’s small kitchen table at Gabriel, but his gaze was laser-focused on Fu.

“It will heal,” Fu finally said. Nathalie exhaled, but Gabriel didn’t.

“It’s faded,” Gabriel said. “Mine as well.”

Fu nodded. “Yes, the recovery will take time,” he replied. “A few months, I should think.”

“And until then?”

“Watch your health. Get a flu shot. Don’t let the public see the marks until they’ve fully darkened to black again.”

“Well, that should be easy enough,” Nathalie said, reaching for her blazer and turning back towards the table as she shrugged it back on. “I was watching my health anyway, and the paparazzi are already used to complaining about how infrequently I display the damn thing.”

Gabriel finally allowed himself to relax slightly. “True.” He took Nathalie’s hand before turning back to Fu. “What of the other matter?”

“Alain?” Fu sighed. “In almost two hundred years on this earth I have never had to permanently block another person’s access to magic. With Evelyn’s help, however, it is done. Alain will never again pose a danger to the innocent.”

“He doesn’t need magic to get revenge,” Gabriel said darkly.

“No,” Fu agreed. “However, he remembers almost nothing of the incident. He knows just enough to be afraid of Evelyn, and grateful that she deigned to spare his life. If he has a change of heart in the future, Evelyn will be his only target.”

Nathalie frowned. Two weeks ago Evelyn being at risk wouldn’t have bothered her at all, but now, after everything… “That’s asking a lot of her,” Nathalie murmured.

Fu shrugged. “Evelyn seems unconcerned.” He paused to take a sip of tea. “I must confess, I never expected to see such a change in her, after so long. Risking her life, sparing Alain, and so on. Obviously she was still a poor fit for her Miraculous-Evelyn would be the first to say it-but perhaps I did not misjudge her as drastically as I believed I had.” Fu turned to Gabriel. “You have changed also.”

Gabriel stiffened. “Perhaps,” he said uncomfortably.

“Have you decided what you’ll do with your own Miraculous now?”

“I-” Gabriel stared at Fu, momentarily stunned. “I didn’t realize the decision was mine to make,” he finally managed to say. “The threat is handled.”

“If you think there will never again be threats in Paris,” Fu said calmly, “you have not been paying attention.”

“But you have time now, you could train someone more worthy in its use.”

Fu took another sip. “If that’s how you feel about it,” he said, his tone still infuriatingly calm.

“That’s not what I…” Gabriel trailed off, then looked at Nathalie. “I don’t think it’s a decision I can make alone. We should discuss as a family before-”

“You should keep it,” Nathalie interrupted. Gabriel’s eyes widened.

“Are you sure?” he asked.

Nathalie nodded. “I know I was… skeptical, at first,” she admitted. “But you’ve proven yourself. To me, at least. Redemption means more to you than you admit, I know. And it means more to Adrien, too. The look on his face, seeing you use that thing responsibly, to help him help others… I don’t want you to throw that away just because of doubts I no longer have.”

Gabriel considered this. “Redemption is still a long way away.”

Nathalie shrugged. “Maybe redemption isn’t an endpoint at all,” she said softly. “Maybe it’s a choice you never get to stop making.”

 

* * *

 

Chat landed perfectly silently on the Parisian rooftop. Ladybug was sitting at the edge of the roof gazing at the night skyline, and she didn't turn to look at Chat but he still knew she'd sensed him arrive. She always knew when he was there.

“Ready to patrol?” Chat asked, sitting down next to her. In response, Ladybug sighed and leaned her head against Chat’s shoulder. “Are you alright, bugaboo?”

“It's been a long week,” she said softly.

“Yeah,” Chat agreed. He took her hand and squeezed it, not pressing the issue.

“We should tell them,” Ladybug said, breaking the silence after a few minutes.

“Tell who what?”

“Nino and Alya. Who we are.”

“Really?” Chat asked, stunned. “I would've thought… I don't know, after Alya’s close call, that you'd be more worried than ever about being safe.”

“I don't know if secrecy is safe anymore, Chat,” Ladybug whispered.

“Nathalie told Alain who I was,” Chat said. “Alya would have told him who you were, if she'd known.”

“Maybe,” Ladybug said. “Or maybe she would have called me before going over to his apartment in the first place, if she'd known her best friend was a superhero and not some fragile little girl.”

“Alya doesn't think you're-”

“She's not talking to me about it, Chat! She went through something horrible and she doesn't think she can talk to me about it, and it's eating me up inside. I'm sick of it.” Chat couldn't remember ever hearing Ladybug sound so pained.

“Okay,” he said. “We’ll figure out how to tell them.”

“Thank you.” Ladybug glanced at Chat. “Is she talking to you about it?”

“Not really. Nino’s gonna try and get her to open up tomorrow, I think.”

“Good.” Ladybug kept leaning heavily against Chat and made no motion to get up.

“Is something else bothering you?” Chat finally asked.

Ladybug shrugged. “Maybe. The whole incident puts soulmarks in a very different light, you know? Now I don’t know what I think.”

Chat tightened his grip on Ladybug’s hand. “You know,” he said cautiously, “the way you said that just now, it reminds me of how I talked to you about Nino, ages ago. I said I didn’t know how I felt, or what to call it. But I did. I just didn’t know how to say it out loud.”

Ladybug nodded slowly, then took a deep breath. “I don’t want a soulmate,” she said in a rush.

Chat let out a chuckle. “Yeah, I can’t blame you there,” he said. “I’m not sure I want a mark myself, after seeing what almost happened to my parents. And I don’t feel like I need one anymore, you know? Like, it’d be nice, of course it would be nice, but I know what I have with Nino and I don’t need any ancient magic to tell me it’s real, or worthwhile, or beautiful. You won’t either, when you find someone that-”

Ladybug pulled away from Chat, taking her hand back and burying her face in her hands. “No,” she mumbled, “that’s not what I meant at all.” She took another deep breath. “I don’t want a mark, I don’t want a soulmate, I don’t want any of it. Ever since the Guardian said we were more likely to get them than other people, I keep expecting to feel overjoyed about it but instead all I feel is… I don’t know, trapped.”

“Oh,” Chat said. “Well… sure, that makes sense. You’re barely eighteen, why would you want one now? You’ve got your whole life to-”

“ _Ever_ , I don’t want any of it ever.” Ladybug put her hands back down on the edge of the roof, and Chat saw her eyes shining in the light of Paris as she blinked away tears. “I love you so much, Chat. I love you, and Alya, and Nino. I want us to spend the rest of our lives together. But the idea of having what you and Nino have, or what my parents have, with another person, when I actually let myself really think about it? It just leaves me feeling empty and confused.”

Chat hesitated, but only for a moment. “Talk to me,” he said. “Maybe it won’t be so confusing if you talk it out.”

Ladybug nodded. “It’s like… my whole life, I’ve wanted a soulmark. Or I thought I did, because I knew I was _supposed_ to want one, because everybody does, don’t they?”

Chat shrugged. “Nathalie never did.”

Ladybug laughed humorlessly. “Yeah, and look at how great that worked out for her.” She covered her mouth. “Shit, sorry, I shouldn’t talk about your parents like that.”

Chat grinned. “It’s fine, you’re right. They were kind of a disaster at first. I just mean it’s not as weird as you think, not wanting one.”

“Are you sure?” Ladybug asked. “It’s _true love_ , who doesn’t want that? What kind of person would rather die alone? I should want-”

“Hey,” Chat said softly, interrupting her and putting an arm around her shoulders, “you’re not supposed to want anything, okay? Nobody gets to choose who they want, or _if_ they want. If friendship is what makes you feel happy and fulfilled, what’s wrong with that?”

Ladybug shrugged. “Nothing, I guess.”

“And no matter what you eventually decide or figure out,” Chat continued, “there is no way you’re dying alone, bugaboo. You’re a wonderful person and you will always, always be surrounded by people who truly love you.”

Ladybug wrapped her arms around Chat, hugging him tightly. “Thank you,” she whispered.

Chat hugged her back just as tightly. “Least I could do, after everything you’ve gotten me through over the years,” he whispered back, before kissing her cheek lightly. “And for what it’s worth, I want us to spend the rest of our lives together, too.”

 

* * *

 

“Adrien’s not in his room,” Gabriel said, waking suddenly in the early hours of the morning.

“Hmm?” Nathalie said, still mostly asleep next to him.

“Adrien,” Gabriel repeated, panic rising. “I can’t sense him. He’s not in the house at all. Nooroo, wings-”

“ _Gabriel_.” Nathalie yawned, then pushed herself up on one elbow. “Did you try calling him first?”

“Well, no, but-”

“So supernatural surveillance is just your go-to response for everything now, is it?” Groaning, Nathalie rolled over and grabbed her phone off her nightstand. After a few rings, a very groggy Adrien answered her call.

“Nathalie?”

“Adrien?” Nathalie said, shooting her husband a look. “Is everything alright?”

“Huh? Yeah, of course it-wait, what time is-oh, shoot, Nathalie, I am so sorry, I didn’t mean to be out all night-”

“It’s fine, Adrien, we just wanted to make sure-”

“It’s just been a heavy week, so I stopped by Nino’s after patrol, I was just going to stay a few minutes but I guess I was more tired than I realized, I can be back in-”

“Go back to sleep, Adrien,” Nathalie interrupted. “Everything’s fine. You’re right, it’s been a rough week, and we could all use a break. We’ll see you later today.” Nathalie put her phone down, sank back into her pillow, and looked at Gabriel.

“It has not been a good week for disappearing family members,” he said defensively.

“He’s eighteen, he has a boyfriend, he’s not going to come home every night. That’s normal.” Nathalie wrapped an arm around Gabriel’s waist, pulling herself closer and resting her head on his chest. “He doesn’t get a lot of normal.”

Gabriel sighed. “None of us do, I suppose.” He hesitated. “You’re sure you’re alright with me keeping the-”

“You’ll figure it out,” Nathalie said, her voice already growing soft as she drifted back to sleep.

A few hours later, Gabriel jolted awake once more. “Someone’s in the house.”

“What?” This time, Nathalie was instantly wide awake. “How?”

Gabriel frowned, though he seemed far less worried than Nathalie would have expected after a break-in. “I don’t know, but I don’t sense any ill intent. In fact… actually, it feels like… wait here, I’ll investigate.”

Nathalie rolled her eyes as she followed her husband out of bed. “Have I ever, as long as you’ve known me, followed that instruction?” Gabriel sighed, but voiced no further protest as Nathalie grabbed a robe and followed him out of the room, through the mansion, down the stairs, and towards, of all places, the kitchen.

As they approached, Nathalie could hear the unmistakable sounds of someone making themselves at home within. She slowed down for a moment, but a quick look at Gabriel’s face told her he wasn’t particularly worried. Confused, she followed him into the room.

“Hello, darlings,” Evelyn said cheerfully, standing at the kitchen’s island countertop and not looking up as she cracked an egg into a bowl. “I was certain you’d be awake and in the middle of breakfast by this hour, but as usual I see I need to do everything around here.”

“Evelyn-”

“Whatever happened to that personal chef you hired, anyway? That was one of the few good ideas you’ve ever had, you know.” Evelyn grabbed another egg.

“Have you ever heard of a doorbell?” Nathalie snapped. “Or _knocking_?”

Evelyn’s eyebrow shot up, and she finally lifted her gaze. “I’m sorry,” she said, annoyed, “but how many more times, exactly, do I need to save your life before I’ve earned front door privileges?”

“Evelyn,” Gabriel said calmly, “it’s been a stressful, exhausting week for all of us.”

“Fine,” Evelyn said, picking up a whisk and beginning to beat the batter. “I’ll call ahead next time. Oh, before I forget.” Evelyn reached a hand into her pocket and pulled out a small black pouch, the flour on her hands instantly getting all over it. She calmly tossed it to Nathalie, who frowned for a moment before opening it and shaking out a familiar blue crystal. “Do try to hold onto that one a _little_ longer than you did the first, would you? They’re not exactly a breeze to enchant.”

Nathalie stared at the crystal for a moment, stunned. Several emotions ran through her mind, so she took a moment to determine exactly which emotion was her main one.

Fed-up, she realized a few moments later. That was it.

“Evelyn,” Nathalie said, trying to keep her voice from rising, “what do you want?”

“Right this second? Pancakes.”

“You know what I mean!” Nathalie pinched the bridge of her nose, and forced herself to take a deep breath before continuing. “Look. I’m very, very grateful for everything you’ve done this week, I really am, but historically you and I haven’t exactly gotten along. So for my own sanity, please just tell me what you are doing making breakfast in my kitchen? The danger’s passed, you obviously know Adrien isn’t home, you could have just dropped this off and left but you didn’t. What do you want, Evelyn?”

Evelyn sighed and put the bowl down. She looked at Gabriel for a moment, then turned back to Nathalie. “Oh, everything,” she said, crossing her arms defensively. “I suppose that’s always been my problem, hasn’t it? I always want everything both ways. I want the freedom to drop everything at a moment’s notice and travel halfway around the world, to not be heard from for six months while I’m off pursuing some obscure magic in the middle of nowhere. But I want a family, too. Not just Adrien, although just my relationship with him is probably more than I deserve, after I abandoned him. I want to be a part of the whole family. I want Sunday brunches, I want to babysit that daughter you’re going to have next year, I want to help Adrien plan a wedding one day, spoil any grandkids that come along. I suppose that’s asking too much, isn’t it, even after everything?”

For a moment, Nathalie was speechless. “I think I can handle brunch, at least,” she finally said.

Evelyn’s eyebrows lifted. “Really?” she asked, not bothering to hide the note of hope in her voice.

“Well. Occasionally, anyway. If Gabriel’s fine with it.” Nathalie looked at her soulmate. “It would make Adrien happy,” she said, only a touch begrudgingly.

Gabriel nodded, then looked at Evelyn. “After everything you’ve done for-”

“I told you not to do that,” Evelyn interrupted, but she was smiling.

Nathalie looked back and forth between them, at the look her husband was now sharing with his ex-wife. She took a deep breath, bracing herself. “What else?” she asked.

“Pardon?” Evelyn looked back at her, confused.

“What. Else. There’s something else you want, isn’t there? I know there is, Gabriel basically confirmed it a few days ago.”

To Nathalie’s surprise, Evelyn’s cheeks turned slightly pink. She glared at Gabriel. “You and your fucking empathy,” she spat. “What did you-you had no business-”

“I said nothing,” Gabriel insisted. “Nathalie, when I suggested you discuss your suspicions with Evelyn directly, I did not mean _while I was in the room_. I should go.” He turned towards the door.

“No, stay where you are,” Nathalie said. “This is going to be hard enough to say, I don’t want to have to say it twice.” She took another deep breath. “I’m sorry I sounded accusatory. The truth is, I understand, I really do. You two were married for a long time. You raised a son together for fourteen years. It ended badly, but you’ve repaired that damage, you’re on good terms again. So it makes sense that there would be… a return of old feelings, shall we say. Desires. Am I wrong?”

Evelyn stared at her, mouth slightly agape. “No,” she admitted, “you’re not wrong. There are desires.”

Nathalie nodded. “Well… I’m not entirely sure how I feel about it, but I suppose you did save my life twice in one week, and the whole situation is rather unusual, so I’ll try to keep an open mind about-”

“I want to tie Gabriel up,” Evelyn interrupted, carefully placing both hands on the island and leaning over it, her face mere centimeters away from Nathalie’s, “and make him watch while I play his wife’s naked body like the finely-tuned instrument I’m certain it is. Is that a desire you’ll keep an open mind about?”

Nathalie’s face went bright red. “I… I…”

Calmly and deliberately, Evelyn straightened, tapping a slender finger against her cheek. “You know, I do believe this is the first time I’ve ever seen you actually flustered. It’s a pity, you really ought to do it more often. You fluster so beautifully, you know.”

“I-”

“Your face is almost as red as that streak in your hair,” Evelyn continued. She leaned back in. “I wonder what other parts of you I could turn that red.”

The last remaining threads of Nathalie’s patience snapped. “What is _wrong_ with you?” she demanded. “Why would you make fun of me when I’m actually, genuinely trying to be understanding about all of this?”

Evelyn narrowed her eyes. “For someone trying so hard to be understanding,” she said, “you certainly seem to understand very little.”

“If you’re just going to keep insulting me, you can get out of my house.”

Evelyn’s eyes flashed. “It was my house a hell of a lot longer than it’s been yours,” she said, an iciness creeping into her tone that Nathalie hadn’t heard aimed at her for over a year, “but don’t worry. If you’re so insulted by my suggestion, I won’t make it again. I’m leaving. You don’t have to worry about brunch, or babysitting, or _Gabriel_. I would never dream of butting in on your perfect little universe-ordained union.” Before Nathalie could respond, Evelyn vanished. The whisk she’d been holding fell to the floor half a second later.

Nathalie stared at the space Evelyn had just occupied, momentarily incapable of forming her thoughts into words. “What the hell,” she finally managed.

“That is not at all how I hoped that would go,” Gabriel murmured. “Foolish of me, I suppose. I’d forgotten that Evelyn finds it even more difficult than I do, being vulnerable.”

Wide-eyed, Nathalie turned to her soulmate. “Vulnerable? That was _vulnerable_?”

“Evelyn’s version of it, yes.”

“You don’t seriously expect me to believe she actually meant all that about-“

“I would hope, after the debacle of her return to Paris two years ago, that we’d learned to believe Evelyn when she says she wants something. She usually means it.”

Nathalie blinked. “The woman loathes me.”

“No,” Gabriel said softly. “She does not.”

 

* * *

 

Alya raised an eyebrow as Nino sat across from her in the booth and slid over the giant sundae he'd just bought her. “That's a much bigger I-told-you-so ice cream than usual,” she said wryly.

“This one’s more of an are-you-okay ice cream,” Nino replied.

Alya rolled her eyes. “I'm fine,” she insisted.

“You sure?”

“Yes, _Mom_ , completely fine. I have closer brushes with death on a weekly basis, as you're so fond of reminding me.” Alya picked up her spoon.

Nino ignored the jab. “Your hand is shaking.”

Alya looked down. “Oh.” Slowly, she put the spoon back down. “Okay,” she said begrudgingly, “maybe this time was, like, a _little_ different.” She took a breath, then looked up at Nino. “I don’t know what to do,” she whispered.

“You don’t have to do anything,” Nino replied immediately. “Everything’s taken care of, I promise. Adrien’s mom-”

“ _Alain_ is taken care of,” Alya interrupted. “That’s not the same thing at all.”

“Alain, Ian, the whole soulmark-”

“I’m not talking about soulmarks, I’m talking about sorcerers!” Alya let out a frustrated sigh. “Look, it’s not like I haven’t ever almost died before, you know?”

Nino snorted. “No kidding.”

“But this was completely different. This was… if I’d died getting too close to, like, an akuma attack or a monster or whatever, at least everyone would know what had happened, you know? But this guy, Nino, if he’d told me to go up to the top of the Eiffel Tower and jump off, I would have done it, I know I would have. And nobody would ever know why, my parents, my sisters, it would have _destroyed_ them. They would have spent the rest of their lives thinking they’d missed some kind of warning sign, blaming themselves, can you imagine?”

“I would have known,” Nino said. “Adrien would have known. We wouldn’t have let your family think that for a second, Alya, I swear.”

“That’s not the point!”

“Then what is the point?” Nino asked patiently.

“The point… the point is, nobody should have that kind of power over other people. The point is Alain wasn’t the only person in the world who could get away with doing something like that. The point is not everybody has connections to superheroes, like I do, or to other sorcerers, like Adrien does. The point is I’ve been researching this for days and I’m still nowhere close to even estimating the _size_ of this problem, never mind having any idea what to _do_ about it.”

Nino raised an eyebrow. “You want to, what, take down all sorcery in the world?”

“I… I don’t know, I want regular people to at least have a prayer of defending themselves against it. But it’s so big, and I don’t know where to start, and I can’t shake the feeling that if I even begin trying I’m just going to disappear one day and nobody’s going to be any safer for it.” Alya picked her spoon back up and started poking at her sundae, her expression numb. “I used to think any problem could be solved by either journalism or superheroes. That I could use my skills to shine a light on hidden problems, and Ladybug or Chat would always be able to take it from there. But this is too complicated and too dangerous for that approach, isn’t it? Solving this would take years at least, it’d be messy, and well before I make any progress the next sorcerer I cross might not be in as good a mood as Alain was when he caught me the other day ago.”

“So stay out of danger,” Nino said. “Let Ladybug and Chat take the lead.”

Alya shook her head. “No, that won’t work either. They don’t have the skills to investigate this stuff, you know they don’t.”

“Perhaps,” a voice in the booth behind Alya said, “some kind of fusion is required.”

Alya whirled around. “Excuse me?” she said, bristling.

“Oh, you’ll forgive an old man his idle eavesdropping,” the man said, stepping out of his booth and smiling serenely at her. Even with him standing and Alya still seated, their eyelines were almost even. “I couldn’t help but overhear the gist of your dilemma, and it sounds to me as though the world is in need of someone who is both a journalist _and_ a superhero.”

Alya narrowed her eyes. “Sure,” she said, not bothering to hide the suspicion in her voice, “that sounds great. Let me know if you find anyone like that.”

The old man’s smile widened. “I will.” Before Alya could respond, he turned around and left the restaurant.

Bewildered, Alya turned to Nino. “What the hell was that about?”

Nino shrugged. “No idea,” he said nervously. “Maybe we should leave?”

Alya considered this. “Nah,” she said, and for the first time in days Nino finally saw her crack a smile. “I’ve got enough to worry about, I’m not going to let myself panic about nosy strangers. Besides, if we leave now, who’s gonna finish this ice cream?”

Alya didn’t find the small black box that had been slipped into her purse until much later that night.

 

* * *

 

“Someone is getting fired for this,” Gabriel muttered to himself, in the middle of reading the paper at breakfast about three months later.

“What’s that?” Nathalie asked.

“Never mind.”

Rolling her eyes, Nathalie grabbed the paper from her husband and opened it before he could stop her. “Oh, for the love of…” She trailed off, quickly skimming the tabloid blurb. It concerned a blurry photograph of herself, taken a week earlier as she was exiting a small Italian restaurant, and claimed it was proof she was carrying twins. “I’m barely showing, I haven’t even gone up a size yet. Heaven forbid I eat some pasta and wear a slightly bulkier sweater than usual. All these guides that insist the second trimester is the easiest clearly were not written by people in the public eye.”

“Rest assured, I will take care of it.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Gabriel, you don’t know the first thing about handling paparazzi yourself. You always had me do that for you. Trust me, this is the kind of thing you let burn out on its own. Any response to it will just encourage further speculation.”

“Oh, I’m certain with a little digging I can get both the photographer and the writer blacklisted for completely unrelated reasons.”

“Father!” Adrien gaped at him, indignant. Gabriel sighed.

“Very well,” he said begrudgingly, “but if this nonsense continues after the baby is born, I am officially done with the high road. In the meantime, perhaps spending more time at home is warranted.”

“If that’s your latest attempt to convince me to take leave early, you can drop it,” Nathalie said. “I’m not changing a single thing about my life just because of a few pests with smartphone cameras.”

“But-”

“Adrien, are you having dinner here tonight or at the Lahiffe’s?” Nathalie turned to Adrien, pointedly changing the subject.

“Um. Neither. Nino and I are going over to Mom’s.” Adrien glanced at Gabriel. “I told Father last week that she’d be back from Jordan today.”

“Really?” Nathalie looked at her husband. “He must have forgotten to tell me.”

There was a tense silence. It was Adrien, unsurprisingly, who broke it.

“Look, I don’t know how you two managed to get on each other’s bad sides _again_ , even after everything that happened a few months ago,” he said in a rush, “but she actually did ask about you when she called last week, she seemed happy you were doing well, I’m sure that if we all just got together you two could work through whatever it is that-”

“I’m sorry, I’m running late for work,” Nathalie said, standing up abruptly. “I’ll see you later tonight, Adrien.”

Adrien gave up. “Okay,” he said. Nathalie was out of the room before he’d finished saying the word.

Nathalie might have come a long way, emotionally speaking, since she’d gotten her mark almost two and a half years earlier, but she was still the kind of person who preferred to avoid her stronger emotions rather than deal with them. If she could stop thinking about a thing, that was almost as good as addressing it.

For the past three months, try as she might, Nathalie had not been able to stop thinking about Evelyn.

“You said you’d hoped my conversation with Evelyn would go different,” Nathalie had said to Gabriel about a month earlier, late one night when she couldn’t sleep and Gabriel was only too happy to stay up with her, reviewing his newest designer’s latest batch of sketches.

“Yes, well,” Gabriel flipped to his next page, “I don’t need to tell you that being capable of detecting emotions and knowing what to _do_ about them are radically different things. If they were not, my first run at being Hawkmoth might have gone very differently.”

“No, what I mean is… how were you hoping it would go?”

Gabriel paused, then closed his portfolio. “Ah. Well. Knowing with supernatural certainty how all three of us feel towards one another, I suppose I’d hoped we could put aside our rather complicated history in favor of the elegant solution. That was naive, I now realize.”

Denials rose in the back of Nathalie’s throat, then died there, unspoken. There didn’t seem to be much point.

Now, knowing Evelyn was back in the city was strange. It gave Nathalie’s entire day an odd, dreamlike quality around the edges as she moved through it. It had been easier to compartmentalize, when the woman was on another continent. Easier not to reflect on all the obvious signs she’d missed.

Nathalie found herself sitting alone in the mansion’s parlor late that night, long after Adrien had returned home and gone to bed, as all the connections she’d refused to make started to hit her, one after the other.

_“What are the side effects? To the subjects, that is.”_

To be fair, that had been easy enough to dismiss. Evelyn had asked it so clinically, after all, focused solely on her ability to procure an alibi.

But then she’d killed Ian, which was less easy to dismiss, especially since by Evelyn’s own admission she’d barely managed it without being killed herself.

_“You do this kind of thing a lot?”_

_“What, rescue beautiful damsels in distress from evil sorcerers? Not at all, it's exhilarating. You know, I wrote off the whole hero thing ages ago but now I'm really beginning to see the appeal.”_

Sarcasm, Nathalie had assumed. Casually cruel teasing.

Evelyn insisting Nathalie rest during their hike back to civilization, offering to tell her the sex of the baby, opening up about her relationship with Gabriel. Evelyn bullying the rest stop cashier into giving them free food and coffee, though she’d barely touched either herself. Evelyn putting Nathalie on twenty-four hour bed-rest, continuing to help investigate even after getting Nathalie back to Paris.

_“Why would Evelyn risk her life like that for someone like you?”_

_“Who knows why that woman does anything? She threatened to kill me herself last year, you know.”_

_“And you're still breathing? She must really like you.”_

Even Alain had been able to tell, apparently. And then Evelyn had gone and risked her life again, to save Nathalie from him. She’d insisted on Nathalie’s right to see him killed too, in spite of the heroes’ protests, which Nathalie supposed was its own kind of romance from a person like Evelyn.

Not for the first time since she’d gotten it, Nathalie slipped her hand into her pocket and pulled out the sky-blue crystal Evelyn had given her. She pressed the points into the pads of her index fingers and held it up to the light, examining it.

The first one hadn’t meant anything, maybe. Evelyn had given them to everyone. This one, though, had been just for Nathalie, and Evelyn had made it and given it to her after all the danger had passed.

Sighing, Nathalie sank back into the cushions of the couch. Gabriel being Hawkmoth. Adrien being Chat Noir. Adrien’s relationship with Nino. When was Nathalie going to start seeing the things that were so clearly staring her right in the face?

More importantly, when was Nathalie going to start _acting_ , once the screamingly obvious was finally spelled out for her? How much more time was she willing to waste?

Impulsively, not letting herself second-guess the decision, Nathalie grasped either end of the small, thin crystal and snapped it in half.

About three seconds later, Evelyn appeared in the center of the room. Her expression was slightly frantic, she was wearing a long nightgown, her hair was untied, and every muscle was tensed and at the ready. Her eyes fell on Nathalie, and Nathalie could see the shift as Evelyn realized she was in no danger. Her muscles relaxed, her breathing slowed, and her expression changed instantly to one of deep irritation.

“You’d better have a good reason for breaking that,” she said cooly.

“I needed to talk to you,” Nathalie replied calmly.

“That’s what cell phones are for.”

Nathalie shrugged. “Face to face.”

“Again, you could have called and _asked_ me to come over. I meant it when I said those things were difficult to make.”

“You might have said no.” Nathalie hesitated. “Anyway, in the time it would have taken me to retrieve my phone from my purse, I probably would have lost my nerve.”

Evelyn’s scowl faded. “Oh.” She let out a sigh. “Well, then?”

For the first time in her life, Nathalie hadn’t planned this far ahead. “Why me?” she asked.

“How can it possibly matter?” Evelyn replied. “I wasn’t ever going to say a word about it, you know.”

“Really? That doesn’t sound like the Evelyn I know.”

“Ha! Because you know me so well, don’t you?” Evelyn said bitterly.

“I might have a blind spot or two,” Nathalie admitted, “but you’ve always struck me as the kind of woman who does what she needs to to get what she wants. It’s the one thing we have in common, isn’t it?”

Evelyn rolled her eyes. “What was I going to do, Nathalie? You have a _soulmate_. There was no point to saying anything, just like there’s no point to this conversation. I’m going home. If you need anything, Adrien can-”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake Evelyn, would you just sit down and talk to me?” Nathalie snapped impatiently. Surprised, Evelyn stared wordlessly at Nathalie for a moment, then crossed the room and sat down next to her. “You’re one of the most infuriating people I’ve ever met in my life, you know that?”

“I’m sure I am,” Evelyn said dryly.

“Of course,” Nathalie continued, “I did marry the man you’re tied with for the title of Most Infuriating. I suppose I have a type.”

Evelyn blinked, surprised. “Really? What about-”

“I never believed in the marks, did you know that? I stopped looking for one about, oh, ten years before mine showed up.”

“I didn’t know that,” Evelyn said, “but you’re Gabriel’s soulmate, so I can’t say I’m surprised. He never had much interest in them either, when we were young and everyone around us was driving themselves mad over the possibility of getting one.”

Nathalie nodded. “I’m grateful for ours, I suppose, if only because Gabriel and I are good together, and it never would have happened without them. But we put the work in. It was a lot of work, too. Still is. And I would never let it dictate my life. I don’t expect Gabriel to be the beginning and end of my happiness, I wouldn’t want to be the beginning and end of his, and I’m not going to let the marks keep me from anything… or anyone, that might make me happy, too. Gabriel feels the same way. So if it’s just the marks that are bothering you, you can stop worrying.”

Evelyn let out a humorless laugh. “You’ve been thinking a lot about this, haven’t you?”

Nathalie smiled. “A bit. A lot, actually. Practically nonstop, since you left Paris. But I still can’t quite wrap my brain around one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“Why me?”

This time, Evelyn considered the question. “You’re strong,” she finally said.

“Me? You’re the all-powerful sorceress.”

“I’m powerful,” Evelyn agreed, “but you’re strong. It’s a completely different thing. You don’t have a drop of magic in you, and yet you stare down sorcerers like Ian, and Alain… and me. You don’t give a millimeter of yourself, even in the face of death. I threatened to kill you, and it didn’t even slow you down when you confronted me the next morning. You walked back into Alain’s lair, even after everything he’d done to you. I could never do that without my power.” Evelyn lifted a finger and traced it down the edge of Nathalie’s face. “You’re breathtaking,” she whispered, leaning in. “Does that help clear things up?”

In response, Nathalie closed the distance between them, kissing Evelyn.

It wasn’t a thing many people in their world were capable of understanding, of course. Soulmarks were everything, or at least they were supposed to be. They were the height of romance, they were universe-ordained perfection. They were simple, and clear, and uncomplicated.

The human heart, however, is none of these things.

“Should we go find Gabriel?” Nathalie asked, when Evelyn pulled back a few minutes later. “I seem to recall you having a very interesting suggestion involving him, and he’s probably already sensing all this.”

“Fucking empath,” Evelyn whispered, grinning. She kissed Nathalie again, then reached up and deftly unbuttoned the top of Nathalie’s blouse with her free hand. “Let him wait. He’s had you to himself for over two years, he can give me another ten minutes.”

No one knew where the marks had come from, of course. No one knew if they had arisen from magic organically, or if they were some artificial construct, a spell cast by some sorcerer in a forgotten age eons earlier. No one knew why they appeared, or what secret criteria triggered them. Faith had filled that vacuum of knowledge, but for all her life Nathalie had known better. The irony did not escape her, that she of all people had been instrumental in the salvation of soulmarks. She didn’t need to know where they’d come from, however, or how they worked, to understand that they were limited. They had to be. There was never going to be a one-size-fits-all kind of relationship. People were endlessly varied, and they changed and grew. Whatever she and Gabriel had with Evelyn, it never would have worked two years ago. Maybe it wouldn’t work two years from now.

For now, though, it worked. Without a mark, without permission from the universe, it was beautiful and it worked.


End file.
